MIDDLETOWN, R.I. — The Potter League for Animals has received a transformational $2.9 million bequest from longtime volunteer Roxann Press — the largest single gift in the organization’s nearly 100-year history.
Press, who died July 27, 2024, at age 93, devoted more than 25 years of service to the shelter, working hands-on with animals and building relationships with adopters. Her gift strengthens the organization’s endowment, creating long-term financial stability as veterinary costs, shelter operations and community programs continue to rise.
Leaders say the endowment will help support thoughtful planning and ensure the League can continue providing care, adoption services and outreach well into the future. At the same time, they emphasized that community support remains vital to meeting animals’ day-to-day needs.
Born in Rochester, New York, Press built a career in radiography and radiation oncology, training at Strong Memorial Hospital. She later worked at Lenox Hill Hospital, became Chief Technician at Hospital for Special Surgery, and also served at Beth Israel Hospital, earning praise for her compassion with seriously ill patients.
She married Dr. Robert Press in 1959. After years vacationing in Newport, the couple moved to Aquidneck Island in 1990. Following her husband’s death in 1996, Press remained active in the community, working as a tour guide with the Preservation Society of Newport and at the Redwood Library.
Her love of animals defined her volunteer life. At the Potter League, she worked in the cat wing, made hundreds of follow-up calls to adopters and fostered litters of kittens — quiet acts of care that now leave a lasting legacy for generations of animals to come.
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