Advancement: Donor Stories
Jack and Joyce Phillips Made a Commitment to Burr and Burton through a Charitable Remainder Unitrust
Joyce and Jack Phillips recently became members of the Burr Society by setting up a charitable remainder unitrust that will ultimately benefit Burr and Burton's endowment while providing them with income for life.
As chair of the Board of Trustees since 2001, Jack has been instrumental in developing the school's long-range plan and providing leadership for the very successful Campaign for Burr and Burton.
“Joyce and I are strongly committed to education, and we feel there is no better legacy we can leave the community in which we live than a well-endowed secondary school,” Jack explained. “I've been on the Allegheny College board for twenty years and currently serve as the chairman of the Investment Committee. I understand first-hand how important a viable and growing endowment is to an institution.”
Originally Stratton second homeowners for twenty years where they spent countless weekends with their three daughters, Jack and Joyce moved to Peru permanently in 1993.
“It was very important to us to get involved in our new community and education has always been one of our top priorities,” Joyce said. “I believe that it is important for us to do all we can for our schools.”
Both Joyce and Jack received MBAs, Joyce from Babson College and Jack from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. They understand the importance of planning for themselves - and the school. That is why they chose to fund a charitable remainder unitrust that will not only provide them with income for life, but also a sizeable charitable tax deduction for their gift. When the trust terminates many years from now, the gift will benefit Burr and Burton's endowment.
“It's difficult to know today what the needs of the school will be in ten, twenty-five or fifty years. By supporting endowment through a planned gift, we enhance the resources and operation of the school for the long term,” Joyce said.
Planned gifts are a wonderful way for anyone to make an appreciable gift to Burr and Burton that benefits everyone. “With this gift we felt that we could create a win-win situation for us and for Burr and Burton,” Jack said.
If you would like to learn more about how you can arrange for a simple planned gift to Burr and Burton, please contact Anne Thompson at (802) 362-1775 extension 110.
Charitable Bequest of Mary Williams Rowland ‘64
”I look back upon BBS as this huge tapestry where each individual was given one thread to weave their story into the past 175 years.” And that is why Mary Williams Rowland ‘64 approached her job as the class of 1964’s class agent with such fervor. From her home in Midland, Texas, Mary used the telephone, e-mail and the U.S. Postal Service to contact each of her classmates, many of whom she had not seen since graduation.
Mary’s family goes way back in Burr and Burton’s history. Five generations of her family attended Burr and Burton. Her great-grandfather, George H. Williams, was a Civil War veteran; her grandfather, Herbert Williams 1893, and grandmother, Isabel Rogers Williams 1901, ran the H.N. Williams Store in Dorset, followed by Mary’s father, William Williams. The store is now operated by her cousin Ruth Rumney Brownlee ‘68 and her husband Dennis along with their son Billy Brownlee ‘94.
All this is why Mary chose to include Burr and Burton in her estate plans and we were delighted to welcome her into the Joseph Burr Society. Mary’s bequest yields a living, lasting memory of her involvement and generosity.
Mary’s work paid off. Over two dozen of her classmates and their spouses joined her in Manchester this past June for a weekend filled with reunion activities. Mary corralled her classmates from one event to the next, starting with the pizza party on Friday and ending with a farewell brunch on Sunday.
”As my good friend Art Martinez ‘64 said at the end of the weekend, we came as classmates and we’re leaving as family,” Mary said. “We are all threads here at Burr and Burton,” she continued, as she weaves a tapestry that ties Burr and Burton¹s history to its future.
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