“Jean Galloway had an eye for investments,” says Dr. Al Wilson, her nephew and an executor of her estate. “She lived frugally off a high-school teacher’s salary, but she invested in a lot of property and in interesting local companies.”
It may not be surprising, then, that when Galloway arranged her estate, she made a gift that was both savvy and education-oriented. By creating a testamentary trust, she put 20 family members through college while still leaving a gift to UW Medicine.
But first, a bit more about Galloway’s lively and generous life.
As the oldest of five siblings, all of whom attended college, Galloway (shown in the middle of the photo, above) was a strong believer in education — and in family. Wilson reports that she took her sisters on cruises and took care of her ailing mother. After her mother died, Galloway moved to Modesto, California, where she taught high-school Latin and typing, raised dogs, and joined a bridge group and an investment group.
“She was a generally well-rounded person,” says Wilson. “And she had amazing foresight into what would happen with her investments.”
Clearly, Galloway was a woman who understood investing. She created a charitable annuity trust that accomplished two purposes: it set up a diabetes research fund named after her parents, William and Grace Donaldson. It also provided her with a steady annual income until she passed away in 1989.
She wrote her second gift, a bequest, into her will as testamentary trust. One of the stipulations: everyone in her family under the age of 27 would have their educations funded. Whatever remained would go to her diabetes research fund.
Dr. Wilson, a graduate of the UW School of Dentistry, starts the mental count of family members. “There were at least 20 people,” says Dr. Wilson. “There were a couple of dental hygienists, lawyers, IT guys. One went to Pepperdine and several to the University of Washington and the University of Southern California, among other schools.”
Galloway had her wishes fulfilled as to the family’s educational needs. She also had another wish fulfilled: a generous gift to diabetes research. Both her parents had diabetes, as did most of her siblings.
“In my case, I’m getting older. I have six relatively young grandchildren,” says Wilson. “And I think the way my aunt gave was a wonderful way to do it.”
You don’t need to be as investment-savvy as Ms. Galloway to make a planned gift to UW Medicine; we’re here to help! If you are interested in learning more about testamentary trusts or other forms of planned giving, please visit AccelerateMed.org/ways-to-give.
