Ohio Wesleyan Receives $615,600 Estate Gift from 1965 Graduate
DELAWARE, Ohio – Nancy J. Hall dedicated her life to education – first as an elementary education major at Ohio Wesleyan University and then as a 33-year Berea City School District elementary teacher in Northeast Ohio.
Her commitment to education will continue in perpetuity with the creation of the Nancy J. Hall Endowed Scholarship Fund at Ohio Wesleyan. The university created the new fund with a $615,600 contribution received this spring from Hall’s estate. The Bay Village resident died in April 2012.
Friends and fellow OWU Bishops Don and Carol Poe of Chagrin Falls, Ohio, said they were not surprised to learn of Hall’s generosity.
“Nancy was low-key and didn’t seek attention,” said the Poes, both members of the OWU Class of 1953. “But she was always very pleasant, helpful, and very involved with OWU alumni events and activities.”
Hall earned her bachelor’s degree from Ohio Wesleyan in 1965 and then worked for Berea City School District from 1965 to 1998. While at Ohio Wesleyan, she was a member of the Zeta Tau Alpha sorority, Association of Women Students, Choral Art Society, and Young Women Christian Association.
After graduation, Hall remained connected to her alma mater by serving as secretary of the Northeast Ohio alumni chapter, working on the chapter’s annual “Snowball” reunion event, and attending other Cleveland-area OWU events.
In sharing her gift with Ohio Wesleyan, Hall’s family said she “appreciated the quality education the university provided to her. … Nancy would like others to have the same opportunity she did in receiving a quality education from Ohio Wesleyan University.”
President Rock Jones, Ph.D., said Ohio Wesleyan is humbled by Hall’s gift and by contributions from all alumni and friends who remember the university in their estate planning.
“These gifts are exceptionally meaningful,” Jones said. “People have so many options when distributing their assets. That they choose to remember Ohio Wesleyan indicates they see value in what we do. We believe we are changing lives, and this shows they believe it, too. It is humbling. We are grateful to Nancy Hall and to everyone who remembers Ohio Wesleyan.”
Learn more about making a gift to Ohio Wesleyan at owu.edu/waystogive.
Founded in 1842, Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation’s premier liberal arts universities. Located in Delaware, Ohio, the private, coed university offers more than 90 undergraduate majors, minors, and concentrations, and competes in 23 NCAA Division III varsity sports. Ohio Wesleyan combines a challenging, internationally focused curriculum with off-campus learning and leadership opportunities to connect classroom theory with real-world practice. OWU’s 1,850 students represent 42 states and 37 countries. Ohio Wesleyan is featured in the book “Colleges That Change Lives,” listed on the 2013 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction, and included in the U.S. News & World Report and Princeton Review “best colleges” lists. Learn more at www.owu.edu.