Planned Giving Spotlight

Thom Marston ’75: Ensuring a Lasting Quaker Education

Despite living in Maryland, Thom Marston ’75 finds many reasons to return to campus. Last April, he guest-lectured to the Environmental Science class on career and volunteer opportunities that benefit the environment. At Homecoming, he worked with students to help maintain the Native Species Meadow, which is located on Edgewood Road by the tennis courts. In November, he applied his green thumb to a garden outside the Jones House. From his many visits to Friends, Thom finds that technology continues to increase the energy efficiency of our buildings. “I applaud your commitment to Net Zero and LEED on the new Global Learning Center. I look forward to seeing the lower school facility in 2023. It is the correct path to take because the students can learn from the building as well as in the building,” he said.

Thom has a deep history with our school. His father Fred Marston ’41; his mother Ruth Anne Lauritson Marston ’40; his aunts Fay Lauritson Carpenter ’37, Marguerite Lauritson Ford ’40, and Mason Marston Daley-Boyd ’49; and his sisters Virginia Marston Burawski ’66 and Marguerite Marston Kritkausky ’70 all graduated from Friends. Reflecting on his own Friends experience he recalled, “The teachers facilitate confidence that enables you to pursue your passions. Harry Hammond encouraged me to partner with a classmate to build a replica of a flour mill I saw at Hagley Museum. Scott Palmer ’75 built the structure, and I built the working grinding and sifting mechanics.”

Upon graduation from Dean College, Thom worked in the marketing department of Delmarva Power. That led to an opportunity to form a partnership in 1992. Energy Services Group conducts energy audits for residential and commercial buildings. In 2018, Thom retired from the firm and now is in private practice to pursue his passion for the environment.

When he and his wife were crafting their wills, they decided to create legacies, including one at WFS. “I found Friends School at the center of my journey. I appreciate the peace and quiet of Quaker philosophy, reflecting on who I am and what I believe. I want others to have that same opportunity as my parents provided me. And I hope a Friends graduate in the class of 2056 will be part of the team that profoundly changes our planet’s destiny,” he shared.

Thanks to Thom’s generosity our endowment will grow to support school programs indefinitely. We are grateful to Thom for both his endorsement and commitment. If you are considering making a planned or estate gift to Friends, please contact Monty Harris, Director of Capital and Endowment Giving, at 302.576.2985 or mharris@wilmingtonfriends.org.