Third daughter of Admiral Sir Herbert William Richmond and Florence Elsa Bell, second daughter of Sir (Thomas) Hugh Bell, second baronet, of Rounton Grange, Yorkshire.
She married Horatio Frederick Vester in 1939.
She went to the Jordanian sector of Jerusalem in 1963 to take over a little hotel, the American Colony, and turned it into one of the city's finest. She and her husband adapted easily to the Israeli victory in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, which unified Jerusalem under Israeli rule. They were proud that the American Colony, which had been under fire during the fighting, remained one of the few places in the disputed city where Israelis and Palestinians, Jews, Muslims and Christians could gather. The hotel had many famous people, among them T.E. Lawrence of Arabia, who often stayed there and played goalie in the soccer games that took place where the swimming pool is today.
Valentine Vester, a Yorkshire homemaker who went to Jordanian Jerusalem in 1963 to take over a little hotel, the American Colony, and turned it into one of the city's finest, died on Sunday morning at her home in the hotel. She was 96.
Mrs. Vester and her husband, Horatio Vester, adapted smoothly to the Israeli victory in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, which unified Jerusalem under Israeli rule. The Vesters were proud that the American Colony, which had been shot up during the fighting, remained one of the few places in the rivalrous city where Israelis and Palestinians, Jews, Muslims and Christians could gather. Their hotel was also a site of numerous secret talks among Palestinian and Israeli officials.
Mrs. Vester, born Valentine Richmond, married into a wealthy Chicago family, the Spaffords, who had gone to Jerusalem in 1881 to live like early Christians, doing good works among the poor and establishing a children's hospital. In 1896 the family bought a former palace of a pasha, which had been empty, and turned it into a hostel for pilgrims.
Mrs. Vester and her husband, a Jerusalem-born Spafford heir and British lawyer who died in the early 1980s, took over the failing enterprise and made it a commercial success.mm"He'd be called the C.E.O. and I'd be called the chief executive of the kitchen," Mrs. Vester said in a 2005 interview with The New York Times. But she also took responsibility for what became the hotel's exquisite gardens. "I never thought to create a luxury hotel," she said. "Just a real one. "We've tried hard to be neutral, and we've tried not to let the hotel become some Disney Oriental."
Many famous people spent time at the hotel, which is also considered a haven for foreign correspondents covering the Middle East. Mrs. Vester remembered T. E. Lawrence, of Arabia fame, who often stayed there and played goalie in the soccer games that took place where the swimming pool is today.
In recent years, as her health and her eyesight began to fail, Mrs. Vester stopped traveling and lived in her apartment in the hotel, which is owned by the family and managed by a Swiss company. But she often went to its restaurants for meals and gave advice to the staff, pushing to hire some women, too, despite the disapproval of Mahmoud, the headwaiter.
Mrs. Vester is survived by two sons, Nicholas of London and Paul of California, and numerous grandchildren. She will be buried next to her husband in a plot near the Mount of Olives.
Contributor: Rusty Moe (48222686)
She married Horatio Frederick Vester in 1939.
She went to the Jordanian sector of Jerusalem in 1963 to take over a little hotel, the American Colony, and turned it into one of the city's finest. She and her husband adapted easily to the Israeli victory in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, which unified Jerusalem under Israeli rule. They were proud that the American Colony, which had been under fire during the fighting, remained one of the few places in the disputed city where Israelis and Palestinians, Jews, Muslims and Christians could gather. The hotel had many famous people, among them T.E. Lawrence of Arabia, who often stayed there and played goalie in the soccer games that took place where the swimming pool is today.
Valentine Vester, a Yorkshire homemaker who went to Jordanian Jerusalem in 1963 to take over a little hotel, the American Colony, and turned it into one of the city's finest, died on Sunday morning at her home in the hotel. She was 96.
Mrs. Vester and her husband, Horatio Vester, adapted smoothly to the Israeli victory in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, which unified Jerusalem under Israeli rule. The Vesters were proud that the American Colony, which had been shot up during the fighting, remained one of the few places in the rivalrous city where Israelis and Palestinians, Jews, Muslims and Christians could gather. Their hotel was also a site of numerous secret talks among Palestinian and Israeli officials.
Mrs. Vester, born Valentine Richmond, married into a wealthy Chicago family, the Spaffords, who had gone to Jerusalem in 1881 to live like early Christians, doing good works among the poor and establishing a children's hospital. In 1896 the family bought a former palace of a pasha, which had been empty, and turned it into a hostel for pilgrims.
Mrs. Vester and her husband, a Jerusalem-born Spafford heir and British lawyer who died in the early 1980s, took over the failing enterprise and made it a commercial success.mm"He'd be called the C.E.O. and I'd be called the chief executive of the kitchen," Mrs. Vester said in a 2005 interview with The New York Times. But she also took responsibility for what became the hotel's exquisite gardens. "I never thought to create a luxury hotel," she said. "Just a real one. "We've tried hard to be neutral, and we've tried not to let the hotel become some Disney Oriental."
Many famous people spent time at the hotel, which is also considered a haven for foreign correspondents covering the Middle East. Mrs. Vester remembered T. E. Lawrence, of Arabia fame, who often stayed there and played goalie in the soccer games that took place where the swimming pool is today.
In recent years, as her health and her eyesight began to fail, Mrs. Vester stopped traveling and lived in her apartment in the hotel, which is owned by the family and managed by a Swiss company. But she often went to its restaurants for meals and gave advice to the staff, pushing to hire some women, too, despite the disapproval of Mahmoud, the headwaiter.
Mrs. Vester is survived by two sons, Nicholas of London and Paul of California, and numerous grandchildren. She will be buried next to her husband in a plot near the Mount of Olives.
Contributor: Rusty Moe (48222686)
Third daughter of Admiral Sir Herbert William Richmond and Florence Elsa Bell, second daughter of Sir (Thomas) Hugh Bell, second baronet, of Rounton Grange, Yorkshire.
She married Horatio Frederick Vester in 1939.
She went to the Jordanian sector of Jerusalem in 1963 to take over a little hotel, the American Colony, and turned it into one of the city's finest. She and her husband adapted easily to the Israeli victory in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, which unified Jerusalem under Israeli rule. They were proud that the American Colony, which had been under fire during the fighting, remained one of the few places in the disputed city where Israelis and Palestinians, Jews, Muslims and Christians could gather. The hotel had many famous people, among them T.E. Lawrence of Arabia, who often stayed there and played goalie in the soccer games that took place where the swimming pool is today.
Valentine Vester, a Yorkshire homemaker who went to Jordanian Jerusalem in 1963 to take over a little hotel, the American Colony, and turned it into one of the city's finest, died on Sunday morning at her home in the hotel. She was 96.
Mrs. Vester and her husband, Horatio Vester, adapted smoothly to the Israeli victory in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, which unified Jerusalem under Israeli rule. The Vesters were proud that the American Colony, which had been shot up during the fighting, remained one of the few places in the rivalrous city where Israelis and Palestinians, Jews, Muslims and Christians could gather. Their hotel was also a site of numerous secret talks among Palestinian and Israeli officials.
Mrs. Vester, born Valentine Richmond, married into a wealthy Chicago family, the Spaffords, who had gone to Jerusalem in 1881 to live like early Christians, doing good works among the poor and establishing a children's hospital. In 1896 the family bought a former palace of a pasha, which had been empty, and turned it into a hostel for pilgrims.
Mrs. Vester and her husband, a Jerusalem-born Spafford heir and British lawyer who died in the early 1980s, took over the failing enterprise and made it a commercial success.mm"He'd be called the C.E.O. and I'd be called the chief executive of the kitchen," Mrs. Vester said in a 2005 interview with The New York Times. But she also took responsibility for what became the hotel's exquisite gardens. "I never thought to create a luxury hotel," she said. "Just a real one. "We've tried hard to be neutral, and we've tried not to let the hotel become some Disney Oriental."
Many famous people spent time at the hotel, which is also considered a haven for foreign correspondents covering the Middle East. Mrs. Vester remembered T. E. Lawrence, of Arabia fame, who often stayed there and played goalie in the soccer games that took place where the swimming pool is today.
In recent years, as her health and her eyesight began to fail, Mrs. Vester stopped traveling and lived in her apartment in the hotel, which is owned by the family and managed by a Swiss company. But she often went to its restaurants for meals and gave advice to the staff, pushing to hire some women, too, despite the disapproval of Mahmoud, the headwaiter.
Mrs. Vester is survived by two sons, Nicholas of London and Paul of California, and numerous grandchildren. She will be buried next to her husband in a plot near the Mount of Olives.
Contributor: Rusty Moe (48222686)
She married Horatio Frederick Vester in 1939.
She went to the Jordanian sector of Jerusalem in 1963 to take over a little hotel, the American Colony, and turned it into one of the city's finest. She and her husband adapted easily to the Israeli victory in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, which unified Jerusalem under Israeli rule. They were proud that the American Colony, which had been under fire during the fighting, remained one of the few places in the disputed city where Israelis and Palestinians, Jews, Muslims and Christians could gather. The hotel had many famous people, among them T.E. Lawrence of Arabia, who often stayed there and played goalie in the soccer games that took place where the swimming pool is today.
Valentine Vester, a Yorkshire homemaker who went to Jordanian Jerusalem in 1963 to take over a little hotel, the American Colony, and turned it into one of the city's finest, died on Sunday morning at her home in the hotel. She was 96.
Mrs. Vester and her husband, Horatio Vester, adapted smoothly to the Israeli victory in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, which unified Jerusalem under Israeli rule. The Vesters were proud that the American Colony, which had been shot up during the fighting, remained one of the few places in the rivalrous city where Israelis and Palestinians, Jews, Muslims and Christians could gather. Their hotel was also a site of numerous secret talks among Palestinian and Israeli officials.
Mrs. Vester, born Valentine Richmond, married into a wealthy Chicago family, the Spaffords, who had gone to Jerusalem in 1881 to live like early Christians, doing good works among the poor and establishing a children's hospital. In 1896 the family bought a former palace of a pasha, which had been empty, and turned it into a hostel for pilgrims.
Mrs. Vester and her husband, a Jerusalem-born Spafford heir and British lawyer who died in the early 1980s, took over the failing enterprise and made it a commercial success.mm"He'd be called the C.E.O. and I'd be called the chief executive of the kitchen," Mrs. Vester said in a 2005 interview with The New York Times. But she also took responsibility for what became the hotel's exquisite gardens. "I never thought to create a luxury hotel," she said. "Just a real one. "We've tried hard to be neutral, and we've tried not to let the hotel become some Disney Oriental."
Many famous people spent time at the hotel, which is also considered a haven for foreign correspondents covering the Middle East. Mrs. Vester remembered T. E. Lawrence, of Arabia fame, who often stayed there and played goalie in the soccer games that took place where the swimming pool is today.
In recent years, as her health and her eyesight began to fail, Mrs. Vester stopped traveling and lived in her apartment in the hotel, which is owned by the family and managed by a Swiss company. But she often went to its restaurants for meals and gave advice to the staff, pushing to hire some women, too, despite the disapproval of Mahmoud, the headwaiter.
Mrs. Vester is survived by two sons, Nicholas of London and Paul of California, and numerous grandchildren. She will be buried next to her husband in a plot near the Mount of Olives.
Contributor: Rusty Moe (48222686)
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