Leaving a Legacy: The Ethel Walker Smith Endowment In the fall of 1911, The Walker’s School for Girls opened its doors with 10 students, seven teachers, one dog, and Ethel Walker’s courageous and resolute leadership — her dream becoming reality with a $10,000 loan from an acquaintance and fellow Bryn Mawr alumna whose interests were educational and philanthropic. In an article she wrote in 1946, Ethel stated, “Academic standards were exceptionally high; the School was founded as a college-preparatory school with a liberal curriculum that included extra-collegiate subjects. The teachers were said to be an unusual group of highly-trained, experienced young women, each with a definite and arresting personality. They met the demands of a new and untried school and worked to make it succeed as if it were their own. The small classes enabled them to give individual special attention to each student and besides they took part in all the School activities and the girls benefitted by close association with their teachers outside of classes.” For several years, Ethel continued as principal decision maker for the School, a role that included the pursuit of increased enrollment, oversight of business and operational duties and relocation to the Simsbury campus in 1917. After a three-year courtship, Ethel married Dr. Terry Smith, a U.S. Army doctor who had been brought onboard to help carry the School through the great influenza epidemic of that time. Although relinquishing her day-to-day responsibilities at the School once married, both Ethel and her husband continued to work tirelessly to ensure its success. A tremendous blow to the Walker’s community occurred in July of 1952 when Dr. Smith passed away after a decade of deteriorating health. Dr. Smith’s death prompted Ethel to reflect on the School’s future. Knowing how crucial it would be that her vision and passion for girls’ education be nurtured and flourish past her lifetime, Ethel converted the School from its then private status to its current non-stock corporate
form. Ethel created the Ethel Walker Smith Company to hold the School’s lands, buildings and endowment funds. In her will, she created two trusts into which certain assets of her estate were bequeathed. Upon the death of the last of the beneficiaries named in her will, the will instructs that any remaining assets be delivered to The Ethel Walker Charitable and Educational Foundation which also was created by Ethel to receive the bulk of her estate. When Ethel died at age 93 on June 14, 1965, she had peace in the knowledge
that her foresight and generous transfer of wealth would aid in the perpetual support and welfare of her beloved School. In the fall of 2016, assets totaling approximately $7.4 million from the first trust were transferred to The Ethel Walker Charitable and Educational Foundation. As a result of this first transfer to the Foundation, the School’s operating budget will now receive an annual payout from The Ethel Walker Smith Endowment for operating expenses. The Foundation will eceive the assets of the second trust established by Ethel at a future date once there are no longer any living beneficiaries to Ethel’s will. Upon the 35th anniversary of the founding of the School, Ethel Walker Smith wrote: “A school, like an individual, has its periods of childhood, youth and maturity, but unfortunately, unlike an individual, increasing years do not necessarily mean deterioration or extinction. As an institution it ages and develops but because of the continuous influx of new generations, its youth is renewed like an eagle’s.” Thanks to our founder’s pioneering spirit, steadfast commitment to this institution and the extraordinary foresight s he exhibited in establishing this planned gift to the School, Walker’s girls today continue to receive a top-notch education. As a result of Ethel’s sage financial planning and philanthropic convictions, the School will continue to benefit for years to come.
Leaving a Legacy: The Eileen Josten Lowe Scholarship Endowment WHAT IS A PLANNED GIFT? Simply put, a planned gift is a gift made to the School that has been arranged for in the present to be allocated to a beneficiary at a future date. Planned gifts are charitable gifts that may involve giving through an estate, a charitable trust, an IRA or a pension fund to name a few ways that a donor can arrange for a future gift to Walker’s. Often the result of a planned gift is a major gift to the School’s endowment which can have a significant impact on Walker’s mission while increasing the School’s financial stability. Planned gifts are also great vehicles for honoring graduates, friends, faculty and family as the gifts may be used to establish named funds or scholarships, while accomplishing both wealth protection and philanthropic goals. Members of the Walker’s community who have established planned gifts and who notify the School, become members of The Ethel Walker Heritage Society. Members of this esteemed group are recognized for their desire to support Walker’s in the future by notation in our annual report to donors. Other recognition opportunities may also be possible. There are many ways to make a gift to benefit Walker’s through thoughtful planning. For tax and financial advice please consult your advisor. To discuss including The Ethel Walker School in your philanthropic plans, please contact Gretchen Orschiedt, Director of Advancement, at gorschiedt@ethelwalker.org or +1 (860) 408-4260. It is important to consult with your personal financial advisor, attorney, or accountant regarding the structure, and documentation of a planned gift. If you intend to make a planned gift, please notify the School so that your commitment can be appropriately credited and acknowledged.
Eileen “Jostie” Josten Lowe ’43 was immersed in a life of music from the day she was born in New York City on February 25, 1925. She grew up in Northampton, MA, the daughter of a composer — her father taught music at Smith College for 30 years — and a singer — her mother, who sang opera at the Met and at Smith. During her four years at Walker’s, Eileen was deeply involved in the School’s music program as a member of the Music Club, as Glee Club head, and as a member of Walker’s orchestra. A gifted violist and musician, her senior yearbook page reflects a well-rounded Walker’s girl who played basketball, field hockey and soccer, and was recognized to have the “saving grace of kindness.” Bennington College was her next home — studying music and art, and as a student taking a role at the Museum of Non-Objective Painting (now the Solomon Guggenheim Museum), that included traveling with curator and director Baroness Hilla von Rebay. Following her graduation from Bennington, and before she married, Eileen secured her pilot’s license. She married, raised her four children, and gave back to her community and to Walker’s as volunteer. In her 70s, she moved to Brooklyn, and she traveled the world — riding the Orient Express from Russia to China, visiting both poles, bird watching in Costa Rica, and going on three African safaris. While she was living a fulfilling life of family, travel, and her endearing passion — music — Eileen remained a life-long supporter of Walker’s and she thoughtfully arranged for a planned gift to benefit Walker’s. Eileen passed away in December 2016 at the age of 91 and her will provided a gift to Walker’s of $100,000. The Eileen Josten Lowe Scholarship Endowment will be awarded to students with financial need who contribute to the Walker’s arts community. Eileen’s daughter, Sarah M. Lowe, shares, “My mother was imperfect but always perfectly herself. She had an impish side and loved to scandalize. She wore knee socks in the 50s, eschewing nylons, and in the 60s, my father was duly horrified by the bumper sticker she affixed to our station wagon, ‘Nixon Eats Grapes,’ despite the fact that he worked for the Feds. In the 70s she adopted a duck, her beloved egg-laying Ponchita, and went to court to keep her in our backyard. She often revealed a wonder at nature, and loved watching the water and light of Vineyard Sound, or observing any animal in its natural habitat.” Sarah continues, “My mother liked to say she never grew up. I think she didn’t feel overly burdened by convention. The word that comes to mind is irreverent.” Thank you, Jostie, for the energy and talent you gave to our School as a student and for the “saving grace of kindness” so beautifully embodied in this legacy benefitting Walker’s girls in perpetuity.