THE CHOWANIAN, NOVEMBER, 1960
ALUMNI SECTION
Remember Alma Mater!
That Bequest Business
“That bequest business is only
for the big boys, not for me.”
This is the thought that goes
through my mind whenever be
quests to worthy causes are
mentioned. And I imagine the
same thought occurs to most ot
us who don’t enjoy a private
income or live off our wife’s
fortune—in other words, all of
us of modest means.
When a piece of fund raising
mail or other solicitation sug
gests that I remember my col
lege in my will, I shrug, “Why
should I?’’ And I instantly decid
ed that there are others who
should and can make gifts of
this kind to charity or education.
Certainly not I.
At least, this used to be my
reaction. Recently I had occa
sion to take a closer look at my
reasoning, and I began to won
der if I was so free of responsi
bility as I had thought. Is it
true, I asked myself, that lega
cies to educational institutions
are only for the wealthy to
make? Or are they also the obli
gation of people of average
means and perhaps stronger-
than-average convictions?
I reviewed briefly my own
obligations to the legacies of
others. I recalled that when I
had decided college training
was essential to the kind of
work I wished to pursue, the
college of my choice was wait
ing for me. Its buildings, its
laboratories, its libraries, and
its wealth of talented manpower
—the result of years of accumu
lation—all these things were
ready because someone’s gift
had made them possible. A
sense of responsibility seemed
to say, “Continue this line im-
broken so that others will have
the chance I had.”
Another thought came to
mind: Would I be in the position
I’m in now if it were not for
the influence of my college
training? Hasn’t my profes
sional growth been nourished by
the preparation I recieved in
college? Of course it has. To
whom do I say "thank you”
for this aid? I know my tuition
paid the college only about half
the cost of educating me. Can
I call myself a “self-made”
man?
If I am to make a bequest
to an institution, that instituion
must be something very special
in my life. I must believe in
what it stands for, and that
belief must be next to my fami
ly and my spiritual self. I’ll give
a few dollars here, a few dollars
there, mostly to quiet my con
science and to get rid of solici
tors. But when I consider a
bequest, there is no motivation
but my own conscience, and that
reaches deep into my whole life.
If I leave a bequest to my
college, I mused, my money
will be multiplied through its
elfect on many students. How
much greater will be the rip
ples that spread out from its
expenditure than if I had
passed it to a single individual.
In a sense, then, I can perpetu
ate my resources into eternity. I
could see in my mind’s eye the
wonderful work even my per
haps relatively small bequest
might do in providing educa
tional opportunities for others.
I had convinced myseU. Then
I became interested in knowing
more about this kind of gift.
I found that the trend of giving
shows an increasing number of
people making charitable be
quests—particularly to educa
tion. These range from a small
token gift to a multi-thousand
I dollar addition to endowment.
And these gifts come from all
I kinds of people in all kinds of
circumstances.
An individual without an im
mediate family is frequently one
who has spent his life intimate
ly involved with his own pro
fession. One way he can make
this close association endure is
by placing his resources, what
ever they may be, at the dis
posal of the institution that has
made it possible for him to grow
and achieve a measure of per
sonal and professional satisfac
tion.
Many couples have few re
sponsibilities beyond each other.
Where finances permit, they
may leave their worldly goods
to each other and provide for
any remaining principal sum to
pass to an institution which has
been a source of inspiration,
satisfaction o r nourishment
throughout their lives. Couples
may think also of the possibility
of their perishing at the same
time in a common disaster. Who
will then inherit? A provision by
will can insure that any part of
such an estate would revert to
an institution they choose.
It happens, too, that couples
with families see their children
grow to be entirely self suffi
cient—in fact, prosperous. A
man looks to his own children
and grandchildren, but it is not
uncommon for him to feel liter
ally closer to an institution than
to some distant or unloved rel
ative. Such a man will reflect
upon those deeper currents in
his own life which have shaped
his career, and he may find
that a sum bequeathed to his
college could yield great satis
factions to himself and to the
generations who will partake of
his generosity.
Then again there is the person
of substantial means who pro
vides for his family and finds
that, after a certain point, addi
tional wealth for them may be
a difficult tax and management
burden. To him the appeal of
tax saving through a charitable
bequest has real meaning.
The decision to make a be
quest is a very personal one.
Only a man’s conscience knows
the importance in his own life
of the institution he chooses. It
has been said that such a gift
is “the act of a man whose
wealth is in ideas, in spirit, in
beliefs.” I know from personal
experience that such a provision
can give one great satisfaction
in the knowledge that he can
help to perpetuate an institution
in which he believes.
A MTvioe ot the American Alumni Council,
1785 MuracfaueetU Av«iue» N.W., Wa«hlns*
ton 6, D. C.
Profile
say that he planned some day to
donate that personal library to
the college.
After discussing at some
length the truly remarkable
growth of Chowan College in
recent years, John’s parting
statement was; “Chowan Col
lege is the door to a better life
for many, many eastern North
Carolina young people and, lor
some, the other door.”
“Now, and in a better way
perhaps than ever before,” he
concluded, Chowan College is
fulfilling its original mission.”
Hats off from the Chowan Col
lege Alumni Association to an
outstanding alumnus—John R.
Jordan, Jr., State Senator from
Raleigh.
Alumna Joins
Chowan Staff
A recent graduate of Chowan,
Miss Norma June Hayes, has
joined the college administra
tive staff as secretary to John
C. Gill, Jr., assistant to the
president.
In June of this year, Miss
Hayes received her diploma in
secretarial science from Cho
wan. She was an Honor Roll
student during every grading
period while enrolled at the col
lege, and a member of Alpha
Phi Epsilon, the national hono
rary society for secretarial stu
dents. Active in all phases of
campus life, she was also an
outstanding member of Cho
wan’s crack girls’ basketball
team.
Miss Hayes is the daughter
of Mr. and Mrs. Loyd J. Hayes
of Gates, N. C.
Alumni News
Judson Eure was recently dis
charged from the Air Force
and is now employed by Swift
& Co. in Norfolk. His wife is
teaching in the Princess Anne
County School System.
Easley Hope Forbes III is
now employed by Edwards and
Broughton Printing Co. in Ral
eigh.
Mr. and Mrs. Fred Hale are
living in Greenville where he is
attending East Carolina College.
Maynard Wooten Leonard is
living in Rocky Mount where he
is employed in the Engineering
Department of the State High
way Commission.
Mrs. Kenneth Stokes (Ella
Mae Parker) of Severn is the
present Worthy Matron of the
Eastern Star of North Carolina.
Mrs. J. C. Pennington (Julia
Futrelle ‘37) and two of her
daughters have gone to Okinawa
to be with her husband Colonel
Pennington. Her older daughter
is staying with her grand
parents near Murfreesboro.
Randolph Vaughan Britton
(‘60) is living in Ahoskie. He
is the office manager of the
Carolina Aluminum Co. in Win-
ton.
Mrs. Leon Carlton Burgess
(Ethel Elizabeth Hobbs) is now
living in Franklin, Va. Her hus
band is employed at Union Bag-
Camp Manufacturing Co.
Tommy Norvell (‘59) of Sea
board who transferred to At
lantic Christian following his
graduation from Chowan, has
already assumed a place of
leadership on the ACC campus.
This summer he represented
the college at the United Cam
pus Christian Fellowship as
sembly at Stephen’s College in
Missouri. More than 1200 stu
dents from American colleges
and universities were in atten
dance at the assembly.
Tommy will receive the B. A.
degree in religion from ACC in
June. He is president of his
dormitory and also a member
of the Student Executive Board.
Alumni Wedding Bells
MARGARET LONG of Rich
mond to EMERLE F. STEP
HENSON, Jr. of Como, at Co
mo on September 24. Both are
currently enrolled at Chowan.
NANCY LEE SNIDER, a for
mer member of the Chowan fac
ulty, to Ralph Gerald Helms of
Concord, at Eagle Springs, on
August 28.
THOMAS WILLIAM WINS
TON of Virgilina, Va. to Hazel
Elizabeth White of Murfrees
boro, June 26.
MRS. MARY WILLIAMS of
Jackson to Malcom P. Davis,
in Jackson, June 4.
ETHEL ELIZABETH HOBBS
of Potecasi to Leon Charlton
Burgess of Pendleton, in Pote
casi, June 26.
WILLIAM GRAHAM ALLI-
GOOD of Windsor to Sara Alice
Yost of Weaverville, in Weaver-
ville, July 15.
MARY ROSS BEALE o*f Pote
casi to Chester Holland Brown
of Jackson, in Potecasi, July
17.
LENA REBECCA GREGORY
to Clifford Jackson Perry, both
of Hertford, in Hertford, June
19.
LAWRENCE SELDON LANE
of Fuquay Springs to Ramona
Fay Drawbond of Roanoke, Va.,
in Roanoke, June 25.
CAROLYN HOLLIDAY of
Williamston to Charles Mills of
Williamston, in Williamston,
September 13.
RANDOLPH VAUGHAN
BRITTON of Menola to Mary
Anne White of Aulander, in Au-
lander, June 20.
JULIAN R. MILLS of Roan
oke Rapids to Mary Ellen Rob
ertson of Aurelian Springs, in
Aurelian Spring, June 1.
BETTYE JO LASSITER of
Union to RICHARD WALTERS
MURRAY of Hampton, Va., in
Ahoskie, May 29.
MAYNARD WOOTEN LEO
NARD of Pinetops to Elizabeth
Walters of Crisp, in Crisp, June
JACQUELINE ANDERSON of
Severn to CARROLL DAVIS of
Elizabeth City, in Elizabeth City
April 18.
JOSEPH EUGENE NORTH-
COTT of Colerain to Judith
Celeste Earley of Colerain, at
Hickory Chapel, April 17.
WANDA GAYE JAMES of
Kernersville to JIMMY LEE
TOWE of Winston-Salem, in
Kernersville, April 1.
MILDRED WHEELER of
Norfolk, Va. to JACK PAYNE
MORGAN of Portsmouth, Va.,
in Portsmouth, August 20.
EASLEY HOPE FORBES III
of Wake Forest to Emma Jean
Horton of Wake Forest on May
22.
FRED HALE of Windsor to
Lynn Mixon of Murfreesboro,
in Murfreesboro on Jvine 4.
JUDSON EURE of Winton to
Marian Louise Turner of Win
ton, in Dillon, S. C., July 16.
JUST MARRIED — Chowan Alumna Reba Dare Hale and Chowan
Coach Jerry Lee Hawkins happily leave the Conway Methodist
church after wedding ceremony last August 21. Chowan Presi
dent Bruce Whitaker performed the ceremony. Two former
Chowanians participated as bridesmaids, Patsy Picot, Franklin,
Va., and Mrs. Bettye Jo (Lassiter) Murray of Ahoskie.