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Archived Donor Stories
Ed Zimmerman — Helping Children Have a Childhood
Ed Zimmerman has succeeded in many roles - as an auditor and accountant, a police commissioner, a town selectman and a state representative to name a few.
Now retired and living on the South Carolina coast, his life is simpler. "I am enjoying life and doing anything I can do to help children have a childhood," he says.
A supporter of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital for 20 years, Ed is using planned gifts to accomplish his dream of helping children overcome disease and go on with their lives. He has made St. Jude the main beneficiary of his estate, and at the end of 2006, he established his first St. Jude Charitable Gift Annuity.
Read more about Ed Zimmerman
Garnet Trosper – The Benefits of Giving
Garnet Trosper grew up in “the cotton patch of Southern Missouri,” learned the watch making trade in Memphis on the GI bill, and with his late wife, Buena, built a successful plate engraving business there -- United Rubber Die Service.
After successfully steering the company through the electronic printing revolution, Garnet and Buena sold their business to their employees about five years ago and moved to a 100-acre home overlooking the White River near Cotter, Ark.
Read more about Garnet Trosper
Francis Rasmus – The Fun of Giving
Francis Rasmus, 65, is now retired after more than 45 years in the insurance industry. Although he always made a modest income, he saved and invested his money very wisely. As a result, Mr. Rasmus now devotes most of his time to his passions - visiting museums, attending concerts and plays and supporting the causes dear to his heart.
"Making a difference while you are alive is more rewarding than waiting until you are gone," he explains. "I'm having the time of my life giving my money away." Mr. Rasmus favors charitable gift annuities (CGAs) because "you can put your money to work now. You get a tax deduction, and some of the money is tax free." In addition, he says, CGAs provide "you or someone you care about with a regular income for life, and you help a charity . . . It's a fun thing to do."
Read more about Francis Rasmus
Mary Alice Jeanmard – Ambassador for St. Jude
Mary Alice Jeanmard
Ambassador for St. Jude
Mary Alice Jeanmard would like everyone who gives to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital to visit the campus.
She has toured the hospital several times, and particularly enjoys attending the annual Danny Thomas – St. Jude Society Donor Luncheon each spring. She has been a member of the Society since 2007, when she informed the hospital that she is including St. Jude in her will. She also attended the 2008 Pathway to Hope dedication ceremony after purchasing a tribute brick last year. She says she is always amazed by what she sees.
Read more about Mary Alice Jeanmard
Norma Fethler
Norma Fethler understands all too well what it is like to be a hospitalized child away from home.
That is the reason she and her husband, Bob, have chosen to leave their estate to charities helping sick children, including St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
Norma spent the first nine years of her life in a Chicago hospital 200 miles away from home and a nearby convalescent home, fighting tuberculosis in her hip bone. Her mother had suffered from tuberculosis in her lungs and had died from it in 1932, before effective treatment became available. Her father also died while Norma was hospitalized.
Read more about Norma Fethler
Hazel Hren
– "It's in my heart to help the kids"
Hazel Hren's decision to leave a legacy to St. Jude comes from seeing the difference the hospital made in the life of one child approximately 20 years ago.
At that time, a little girl in Hazel's community of Hesperia, Mich., went to St. Jude for cancer treatment. The girl recovered, grew into a young woman, and continues to live in the area.
"I saw how well St. Jude treated that little girl, even though her family didn't have a lot of money," she says. "That is why I began sending (St. Jude) money regularly, and why I put St. Jude in my will."
Hazel has made her legacy gift for a specific amount. "It isn't a lot, but it is really in my heart to help the little kids," she says.
Read more about Hazel Hren
Larry and Nancy Travis
– Dedicated to helping children
When Larry and Nancy Travis were making out their will a few years ago, they simply followed their heart - giving to their family, their church and to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
"It just made sense to include St. Jude," Larry says, "because of our dedication to children."
The couple, from Rockford, Mich., have supported St. Jude ever since they watched a telethon 21 years ago. "Nancy cried her eyes out, and we've been giving ever since," Larry says.
The couple's dedication to helping children is evident in all they do. Larry volunteers as director of a children's program for 4-year-olds through third graders at his church, teaches Sunday school and is director of a one-week children's camp on Lake Michigan.
Read more about Larry and Nancy Travis
Giving from Experience - Harold and Linda McMurtry
"I dont think anybody can realize what a wonderful place St. Jude is until they are in the position of needing its careon" says Linda McMurtry.
She and her husband, Harold (Mac) McMurtry, have experienced that care for patients and their families first-hand, which is why they have chosen to include St. Jude in their will.
Read more about Linda McMurtry
The parents are in their prayers - Jeanette and Jim Whitmore, Sr.
Jeanette and Jim Whitmore, Sr. will do whatever they can to prevent others from experiencing the loss of a child. That is one reason they have included St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital® in their will.
"I know what it is like to lose a child," explains Jeanette. "When I see those parents sitting in the St. Jude waiting room with their children, I know what they're going through. Believe me, they are in my prayers. . ."
Read more about Jeanette and Jim Whitmore
