An annual newsletter brought to you by the University of Victoria Planned Giving Office

INSIDE:

P. 2 - Walking the Walk: A

Staff Member’s Perspective

on her Legacy Gift

P. 3 - A Fine Result:

Student Embodies What

Legacy Giving Can Do

P. 4 - The Legacy Honour

Roll

Brenda Lonsbury-Martin

Brenda’s Mom, Dorothy Butler

Lonsbury-Martin

LEGACY MATTERS

May 2014 – P. 1

Paying it Forward: Alumna Gives Back in a Way You Might Not Expect

What did it take for a little girl from Esquimalt to grow up and receive a Lifetime Achievement Award for medical research? It took brains, hard work, collaboration, and lots of support. That support was personal, academic and financial, and UVic alumna Dr. Brenda Lonsbury-Martin has a profound understanding of how important it was. Now she is giving back to UVic through a bequest in her Will; but not to students studying medicine or science or anything else related to her successful career. Brenda graduated from UVic in 1967 with a Bachelor of Arts degree; majoring in Psychology and minoring in English Literature. She went on to receive her Masters and Doctorate in medical psychology (a precursor to neuroscience). After completing two post-doctoral fellowships, she began her career as a medical-research scientist in the field of hearing and deafness. Brenda is currently a professor in the Department of Otolaryngology - head and neck surgery - at the Loma Linda University Medical Center in California. She has travelled all over the world as a guest lecturer in her field of expertise. Her favourite formal award is from the American Academy of Audiology, which honoured her with their 2009 President’s Award for “Outstanding Contributions to the Field of Audiology”. More recently, in November 2013, she received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Speech-Language-Hearing-Association.

So why did Brenda establish a bursary for visual arts students at UVic through a gift in her Will? It was because of the personal support she received from one special person. Brenda says she owes all her professional success to the influence of her mother, Dorothy Butler, who could not afford to go to university herself, but was adamant that Brenda have an advanced education. Dorothy painted with watercolours for most of her life, so Brenda’s award honours her mom’s passion for the visual arts. Dorothy now lives in Salmon Arm, BC, and is still her daughter’s biggest fan. Mentoring also played a large part in Brenda’s success. At UVic, Dr. William Gaddes was an inspirational teacher, who encouraged Brenda to go on to earn a higher degree in the field of neuropsychology.

Financially, Brenda was supported by

scholarships at UVic. In her words: “I now want to ‘give back’ to the system that helped me become successful by helping younger generations achieve the best possible education and training.” Reflecting on her life and legacy to UVic, Brenda says “In the end, it is your family and the friends you grew up with that eventually mean the most to you. The age-old adage is surely true: no one will miss you ‘at the office’ when you are gone.”

LEGACY MATTERS

May 2014 – p. 2

Walking the Walk: A Staff Member’s Perspective on her Legacy Gift

Planned Giving Officer Deborah Walker isn’t just a staff member, she’s also a legacy donor; having left a gift in her Will to UVic Libraries. She describes the strong ties she has to her job, to universities, to education, to her parents’ memory, and to the wonderful world of libraries and explains how they all came together in her bequest. Picture this: a seven-year-old girl; tall and gawky, her hair in braids and missing two front teeth; scuffling up the walkway to an imposing building. The building in question was a public lending library in Montreal and I was that kid. My dad was registering me as a library member. Every 2 weeks I would walk to the library and take out as many books as I could carry. At university the library was the place I studied and hung out with my friends. Everywhere I’ve lived since then – and I’ve moved 15 times in my adult life – my membership in the local library makes me feel grounded and part of the community. This reading thing was a family affair. My mother, who couldn’t afford a post-secondary education, joined The Book of the Month Club at age 18 to keep her fine mind stimulated. Our living room had a whole wall of floor-to-ceiling bookshelves cradling the offerings from the Club and Mom kept her membership for over 60 years. Reading remained my dad’s great pleasure and escape too. When he died, a cousin of mine said she’d never known a man who could just go off into a corner; surrounded by the mayhem only a family of seven can make; and get lost in a book. When he met my mother he impressed her by loaning her a book of poetry. She admitted he was drop-dead gorgeous, but claimed it was really the book that made her agree to a first date! My father came from a family that believed that education is the key to both personal success and a healthy society. My grandfather was a high school principal who insisted my dad go to university. Dad was in the first class of graduates who took their Bachelor of Commerce degree at McGill and he became a business manager. To my parents it was a “given” that their five children receive a university education too, even though it caused them financial hardship. Do you sense a theme here? Reading/ Libraries. Education/ Universities. They weren’t just pastimes, forms of learning, or institutions, but strong ideals ingrained in me from a very young age. So you can imagine how thrilled I was to be employed by the University of Victoria. As I became immersed in the fascinating world of legacy and planned giving, I started to think about what my legacy would be. I have no children and I’m the youngest of my siblings. Where would my assets go? The obvious answer for me was: to charity. Designing my legacy was a surprisingly creative and thought-provoking process. I first decided my gift should be in memory of my parents, who were a massive force for good in my life. The area of support was a little difficult to choose, but one morning the idea of giving to libraries popped into my head and I knew it was perfect. I have directed that the residue of my estate be divided between the libraries at McGill and the University of Victoria and that the two library funds be named in memory of my parents. So what’s the point of this story? I didn’t write it to boast about what a do-gooder I am. I’m not trying to influence our readers to support anything in particular through a legacy gift, but maybe it will make you pause and reflect. After you’ve taken care of your loved ones in your Will, wouldn’t it be great to support your passions and ideals? If those passions and ideals have any connection to UVic, we can help you explore your options. Call or email me at: 250-721-8967 or dgwalker@uvic.ca

Liv Ferguson, Eloquent Student Speaker

Professor Marion Small Liv’s Legacy Supporter

LEGACY MATTERS

May 2014 – p. 3

A Fine Result: Student Embodies What Legacy Giving Can Do

It was quite the occasion! In December 2013, we held the T.S. McPherson Society luncheon for donors who have made a commitment to leave a legacy to UVic. Attendees included the new President of the University of Victoria, Jamie Cassels, and guest speaker and honourary degree recipient Dr. Ted Grant, who regaled us with stories and images from his 60 years in photojournalism.

One of the stars of the show was Olivia Ferguson, a Master’s student studying caricatures, the forerunners to today’s political cartoons. Liv is the recipient of the Hugh Campbell and Marion Alice Small Scholarship for Scottish Studies, established by former UVic professor Marion Small through a gift in her Will. She eloquently described the impact these gifts have on her and her fellow- UVic students. “As I stand up here today, I’m reminded of a day ten years ago, when I stood up in a big room to recite a poem in front of many smiling faces. The occasion was my Aunt Hilda’s 100th birthday. She had a long, beautiful life, full of activity, generosity, and friends of all ages…. Hilda was a lifelong volunteer and donor to organizations including the United Nations Association, the National Trust, the Girl Guides, and the Scottish Epilepsy Society. There were many people at the party who had never personally met Hilda, but who knew her through the wonderful contributions she had made. Everything I have achieved during my time at the University of Victoria has been thanks to people like Hilda, who go the extra mile to help and mentor others. People come from far and wide to study at this university, and they are not misled. I have not one mentor or advisor, but many, and not just in my own department. The support I

have received … has been exceptional. The Hugh Campbell and Marion Alice Small Scholarship for Scottish Studies made it possible for me to enrich my studies far beyond coursework. Thanks to Professor Small’s generosity, I have been able to pursue original, independent research that can be shared with a wider audience. Truly productive research is founded on the lifelong passions and dedications of those who go before us….Both Professor Small and her husband Campbell were passionately interested in Scottish culture, including art and cartoons, so as I embarked on the project of decoding … caricatures … it was with the knowledge that I was helping to further the study of a subject that was dear to them. The work of students here at the University of Victoria may lead to historical discovery, to scientific discovery, to innovation. Just as I’m here today to show my appreciation for Professor Small’s foresight, so all of you, and the many others who could not join us, will be praised for your generosity by students like me long into the future. You will always be remembered for your unselfishness by those you’ve helped, students you may not know, or may never meet, but who will honour and thank you just the same. Thank you.”

LEGACY MATTERS

May 2014 – p. 4

Legacy Honour Roll

Many donors who are committed to leaving a future gift to UVic have decided to share the power of what legacy gifts can do by agreeing to be acknowledged in university media. They have allowed us to publish their names, not because they want to “see their name in lights”, but because they believe this will encourage others to leave a legacy to the University of Victoria.

Frank G. Ainsworth

Anthony Brian Allen

Pamela Allen

Anna I. (Bunty) Allen

Dr. Lewis & Mrs. Caroline Bartlett

Gerald W. Burns and Lorraine E. Burns

A. Robert Carter

Joyce Clearihue

Gary and Consuelo Corbett

John Cowlin, P.Eng.

Carolyn Crippen, Ph. D

Professor John Fitch

Joan Anne Forsyth

Dan Gillett

David E. Gramlich, BSc (`93)

Len Hindle

Patrick Hlavac-Winsor

A.D. (Sandy) and Glenda Kirk

Prof. Anthony V. Liman

Fae Logie

Maria Luisa Macrae

Jessie Mantle

Cathy Whitehead McIntyre

Hazel Morris

Catherine M. Paolini

Gerald A. Poulton

D. Heather Raven

Dr. Jillian Roberts and family

Erich Schwandt

Philip R. Smith

Lois M. Smith

Richard A. Steffin and Anna L. Steffin

Vickie Thomas

NK & Santosh Varma

Deborah G. Walker

Dr. Diana White

Dr. Patrick White

Beverly Anne White

Audrey Woodward

Prof. Derk Wynand

Eva Wynand

M.W. Yeats

Patricia M. Young

John H. and Betty M. Youson

Tell Us Your Story! Were you the recipient of a student award which made all the difference in your life? We would be delighted to hear about it. Feel free to contact us with any question you may have about legacy giving. Phone: 250-721-8967 Email: dgwalker@uvic.ca www.uvic.ca/givingtouvic/ways/legacy/