Planned Giving - Distinguished Donors
Honoring a gentleman and a scholar
Jim Snyder '57 establishes a scholarship in Professor Robert Bowers' name
It may be a half century since Jim Snyder '57 attended Hanover College, but that's not long enough for him to forget the time spent in class with a special teacher, Dr. Robert Bowers, professor of history from 1949 to 1980.
Chatting with Snyder by phone from his home in Palm Desert, Calif., he recalled how Bowers befriended him as a freshman at the beginning of his second semester. "He would have me over for coffee once a week, just to talk," said Snyder. "I learned more from those chats than any class I ever took."
According to Snyder, Bowers was a gifted lecturer. "People used to stand outside his class and listen to him. He was just that entertaining. He was funny and pointed, at times a little cynical, but always accurate."
Snyder added Bowers gifts extended outside the classroom. "I'd gotten an opportunity to see
him in meetings with faculty and students. I don't care what the subject was, he could always contribute."
Though he only attended Hanover for two years, the impressions Bowers' made on Snyder lasted a lifetime. The two kept in touch after leaving Hanover, stopping off to visit Bowers when he traveled from Cincinnati, Ohio, where he worked for General Electric, to visit family in Louisville, Ky.
Snyder recently established a charitable remainder trust that will provide a scholarship in Bowers' name. The Bob Bowers Memorial Scholarship will go to a student in his or her junior year, based on scholastic improvement between the freshman and sophomore years.
In setting up the scholarship, Snyder made a recommendation for the future Hanoverians that would help keep Bowers' memory alive. "I hope whoever receives (the scholarship) will look into his life and accomplishments and find out what a great person he was."
Giving back to Hanover 
Ralph Gray '55 and his wife, Beth, have made a big decision; they have chosen to include Hanover College in their estate plans with a contribution that will help others have the opportunity of a Hanover education.
"In the process of rather extensive financial planning, we saw the opportunity to make this contribution while also meeting our own needs," said Gray. "We used the charitable remainder trust approach because it ideally suited our current needs and also our philanthropic impulses." The decision for them to contribute was "fairly easy and simple, with good, trusted financial planners and knowledgeable people at the college."
At Hanover, Gray majored in history and joined Phi Gamma Delta. He believes the college transformed him from a "country bumpkin" to walking the road to academic success and a long career as a university professor and writer. In his 2003 O'Brien lecture at the college, Gray spoke of wrestling with his career decision. "My earliest choices seemed to be either high school teaching or practicing law," he said, "and I took the general required courses without yet knowing what my major would be." However, it turns out his grandmother, Beulah B. Gray, influenced his decision the most. She was the editor of the "Otwell Star," a historian and masterful storyteller. Her love of history led Gray to teach the subject, first at Ohio State University, then IU Kokomo and later at IUPUI. He retired in 2004 after 33 years of teaching.
Gray has written a number of books, including "IUPUI: The Making of an Urban University," (IU Press, 2003. Other works include a biography of Elwood Haynes, who manufactured the first automobile in Indiana (the second in America), editing the scholarly journal "The Journal of the Early Republic" and compiling "Indiana History: A Book of Readings."
The couple has a combined family of seven children and thirteen grandchildren, ranging in age from 3 to 49. Gray met his wife at IUPUI, where both of them worked in the 1990s. Ralph's first wife, Jan Everett Gray '56, passed away in 1993; in 1996, they began dating and eventually eloped to Key West, Fla., in 2003.
When asked why the couple chose to give back to Hanover, his wife offered another perspective. "You have to be as thankful as you can to the institutions that helped you along," she said. "I just think it's a way to say thank you, when you've had a successful life and it wouldn't have been that way without a good start." Her husband added, "It's a great feeling," he writes, "to have major decisions like this behind you, and it is especially good to witness the gratitude of the recipients and see the beginning fruits of your labor."
--Kathleen Baute '08
The Harry E. Fadely Book Fund: A Memorial to A Father
"My father, Harry Ellison Fadely, had open-heart surgery ten days after I arrived at Hanover as a freshman," says Jim Fadely '75, "and he passed away less than a year after I graduated. The first gift Sally and I made to Hanover was to begin establishing the Harry E. Fadely Book Fund for Duggan Library in his memory."
Jim and Sally (Fehsenfeld '74) continue to support the fund that honors Jim's father. Harry Fadely, a fifth-generation Hoosier, traveled throughout the world during World War II. Those travels confirmed his conviction that Indiana was "the most special place on earth," and he encouraged Jim to attend an Indiana college. Thus focused, Jim discovered Hanover. According to Jim, "the rich liberal arts experience at Hanover provided a foundation for my subsequent graduate work and opened up a world of learning across the disciplines." When Harry died, Sally and Jim felt that establishing a book fund was a natural tribute to recognize Harry's respect for learning and his fondness for Hanover. "One of my favorite photographs is him standing by Hendricks Hall on Dads' Day with the Ohio River in the background," states Jim. "In many ways, I am indebted to him for the wonderful undergraduate experience I had at Hanover."
In addition to the Harry E. Fadely Book Fund, Jim and Sally are founding members of The 1827 Society and have also supported the Hanover Fund regularly since their graduation. They have established The Fadely Trust to provide ongoing support for the college because "making these gifts gives us a sense of satisfaction by supporting Hanover over the long term. Hanover has been a significant and meaningful part of our lives, and these gifts make that connection permanent."
Thank you, Doug Burney 
Through volunteer efforts and financial gifts, Doug Burney has included support for Hanover throughout his life journey since his graduation in 1972. His volunteer work includes six years of service on the alumni board and 18 years of hosting the Indianapolis phonathon. (He was presented the Eleanor Watts Moyer Volunteer Award in 2002.) Financial support has come in the form of consistent gifts to the Hanover Fund and membership in The 1827 Society along with his wife, Susan. Most recently, a conversation with Doug resulted in the Hanover Alumni Business Network (HABN) events being instituted in Indianapolis. To date, three of these very successful events have been held.
Doug described his time at Hanover as being fun and educational when he was a student, but noted that "with maturity our college experience comes back into our lives in a different light. It now becomes part of our value system." Doug's personal values include a strong sense of loyalty, a belief in the mission of small liberal arts colleges and the desire to give back to the college that he describes as his "stepping stone to success."
(Apparently, he has passed some of those values on to daughter Shannon Burney Christie '02. Shannon is a class agent and an enthusiastic supporter of Hanover events in the Louisville area.)
Thanks, Doug, for finding so many ways to give back to Hanover!
Two generations of 1827 Society bequests
Bequest gifts made through wills represent the foundation for most planned giving programs. Bequests represent a straightforward and uncomplicated way to make an estate gift. I would like to take this opportunity to introduce you to two generations of the Hanover family who recognize the importance of bequest gifts. Emmy Rogers Holmes '46 and son Tom Lett '82 are both members of The 1827 Society as a result of including a bequest provision for Hanover through their wills.
 |
 |
Thanks, Emmy and Tom, for your commitment to Hanover and its students.
Darleen Connolly
Director of Planned Giving and Stewardship