Legacies live on through local foundations | News

“There’s been a lot of changes in our local community, we have a lot of new faces,” Pryor said. “I’ve been here 15 years, and I always heard about the Lowry Fund or the Jeffcoat Memorial Fund and I sort of know a little about them because of my role. We put these great pictures of Hank (Royer) handing over gobs of money to all these really cool programs, but who are these people? Why did they create the foundations, and how and why does Hank do the magic that he does?”

Pryor and Dawn Hammatt, Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum & Boyhood Home director spoke recently about how the philanthropy shown by Bill Jeffcoat and Richard Lowry plays into the bigger picture of inspiring a new generation to engage and be good citizens, which is what 34th president of the United States was all about.

“Eisenhower really was a community builder,” Hammatt said. “Because of his roots, right here, he really learned about how the community needs to come together to help each other and provide support. I think it really shines through with Mr. Lowry, and Mr. Jeffcoat, and some of the others in their high school graduating class who are also products of Abilene.”

Royer, who oversees the Jeffcoat and Lowry foundations, said the Abilene High School’s class of 1943 graduated several people whose legacies live on through their philanthropy.

Jeffcoat died Jan. 3, 2007, on his 82nd birthday. Prior to his death, Royer advised him on how to handle his estate.

“I had to point out to him that the federal estate threshold was $60,000,” Royer said. “Once you gave away more than $60,000, 37 cents of every dollar had to go to the government immediately, and real quick that got up to 55 cents of every dollar. Bill asked me how could he avoid having to send all that money to Washington, essentially over half his estate.”

Royer helped Jeffcoat set up a nonprofit foundation, which was named a beneficiary in his will.

“Not a penny of his money went to Washington,” Royer said. 

Instead, it has stayed in Abilene and has supported dozens of programs and special events. The money was invested and over the years several million dollars from the earnings have been given away. Jeffcoat’s second cousin, Wayne Berkland, handles the investment side of the foundation while Royer disburses the money.

Jeffcoat was the third-generation owner of the Jeffcoat Photography Studio, which was started by his grandmother. He had a reputation of being tight on the purse strings, which led to him amassing his fortune.

“He was super frugal,” Royer said. “I mean, super, super, super frugal. And he invested well, and honestly Patti O’Malley (with Benjamin Edward in Abilene), she was a good friend of Bill’s and she got him into some good investments.”

He didn’t spend his money cavalierly. He saved and invested and it grew multiples and is still growing multiples having at least doubled since his death.

“The only two things he wanted for sure to be involved with was, he wanted me to give some money to the Eisenhower Foundation and the (Dickinson County) historical society,” he said. “Beyond that it was totally discretionary.”

Looking over the large pages of handwritten spreadsheets, Royer looked over the organizations he has distributed funds to.

“With myself and Wayne to decide where to give it, we’ve probably got 20 different organizations I’ve given it to and spread out literally millions of dollars,” he said.

Like his classmate, Lowery too was a frugal man, Royer said. He remained a bachelor, was frugal and invested wisely. He died Aug. 10, 2005. An army veteran, Lowry worked in the accounting department at C.L. Brown Properties, then called Abilene United Utilities, which would later be known as Sprint.

“Richard moved with United Utilities from Abilene to Kansas City,” Royer said. “But in his heart, he never left Abilene.”

After his death, his money came back to Abilene and has helped support many nonprofits and their programs. Royer recalled when Lowery stepped up in a substantial way at the Eisenhower Library and Museum.

“I was on the board down here for 30 some years and vice president for a bunch of years,” he said. “The first gallery redo we did … when we got done, we had a big note at the bank that had no money. I mean, the foundation was literally broke. I was thinking about retiring … but didn’t want us to be broke when I left. I worked with Richard Lowry … and he gave a nice-size amount to the Eisenhower Foundation so we could retire all of its debt at the bank and be solvent again.”

The museum and library continue to receive an annual contribution from the Lowery Foundation with the funds going to support grants for travel researchers.

“That helps get these people into town,” Hammatt said. “They’ll stay here for a while, they’ll go out to eat, they put their money into this community while they’re here doing research.”

St. Andrews Elementary School was also a pet project for Lowry who wanted to make sure they also received an annual disbursement.

“Richard didn’t just give to those two,” Royer said. “We gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to other things here in town — everything from Christmas decorations to the St Andrews Elementary Teachers Memorial; I gave to Terry Tiejens (at the Seeley Mansion) a couple of times, Boy Scouts, the Hope Center St. Andrews Elementary, Kids in Crisis, Community Foundation operations — we gave them $50,000 and in that one, the Kansas Health Foundation matched.”

“Richard felt Abilene was a great place to live and wanted his life’s accumulations to be brought back to Abilene to be used for the enhancement of non-profit organizations in our area,” Royer said.

Many cultures have a proverb to the effect of, “a man dies two deaths. Once when you take your final breath, and then again, the last time someone says your name.”

Coming up on the 80th anniversary of when Jeffcoat and Lowery walked across the stage and accepted their high school diplomas, the legacy they left behind will have people remembering their names for years to come. 

Royer is quick to say that he is simply the one who disburses the funds they left. When it is said that he has given someone financial help, it is not coming from him, he said. Jeffcoat and Lowry entrusted him to ensure their wealth was shared in ways that do them honor. It is a responsibility he takes seriously, but also gains personal rewards from. 

While the projects supported from the two funds run the gamut of neutering stray cats to helping children get vision therapy, what he gravitates to are those that help even the playing field, he said.

Jeffcoat and Lowry both came from families that were not wealthy. They weren’t handed an inheritance. When Jeffcoat took over the family business, he bought it from his father; it was not given to him, Royer said. 

When Royer sees something that can help children get a step closer to their peers, he wants to support it. He has disbursed close to $125,000 to the Abilene Recreation Department to pay the way for children to go swimming and see shows at Great Plains Theatre.

He recalled a day several years ago when he was at the swimming pool and saw some children standing at the fence watching the others play. He asked why they were there and not swimming.

“(I was told) they can’t afford to pay the fees to get in,” he said. “I told (them), ‘You just go get them and bring them in here and give them a swim pass, and I’ll pay for it through the foundation.”

Now all children who qualify for free or reduced meals in school can have a family season pass so parents too can enjoy a pool day with their child. The children can also get reduced tickets for the theatre so they can go with their friends and not worry about the cost.

“It’s about trying to level the playing field because Bill and Richard to a degree where those outside kids,” Royer said. “Seeing the kids have the same opportunity as their wealthier friends, for lack of a better term, it makes me feel good.”

While these two accounts gain a lot of attention, they are by no means the only ones. The Community Foundation of Dickinson County helps manage several funds set up as legacies for people who want to continue giving in Abilene long after they are gone.

“We just need to let the community know that Washington is not going to send money back here for worthwhile things,” Royer said. “We need to use some of the resources that are here and with a community foundation in place you can use it as a vehicle and set up a fund over there.”