Union’s nursing program has been consistently recognized for its excellence in education. Margaret Maxwell Hyde ’53 and Rhonda Humenny Rutt ’85 graduated 32 years apart from the same program and they recently discovered a link that connects their lives.
Jim, Margaret’s husband of more than 40 years, lay struggling with a terminal illness in 1996. During his stay at Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins, Colo., Margaret found comfort in the wonderful nursing care given to Jim. As she observed one nurse in particular, she found herself thinking, “That gal is nursing like they taught me back at Union College.”
She struck up a conversation with the nurse, Rhonda, and asked where she had been trained. “At Bryan Memorial Hospital,” was her reply. “In Lincoln, Nebraska?” asked Margaret.”Yes,” replied Rhonda. “Have you heard of Union College?” inquired Margaret. Rhonda brightened as she answered, “Oh yes, that’s where I graduated from!” Margaret was delighted to discover that Union’s nursing program was still teaching the same caring and compassionate techniques she learned a generation earlier.
Margaret graduated from Union College with a nursing degree in 1953. After working at Boulder Memorial Hospital and Poudre Valley Hospital, she accepted a job in the office of Dr. N.L. Beebe and Dr. Clarence Hilliard ’46, a position she held for 20 years.
Margaret’s fond Union College memories, along with her recent experience with Rhonda, convinced her to do something special for her alma mater. When her father, Earl Maxwell (who had been head cook at Boulder Memorial Hospital) passed away in 1998, Margaret researched different options for gifting property received from his estate. After discussing her choices with Union College’s director of leadership giving and with her own attorney and accountant, Margaret established a charitable remainder unitrust.
Although Margaret will enjoy many financial benefits such as lifetime income, a sizable income tax deduction and avoidance of capital gains, her real reason for making the gift was to continue the exceptional nursing program at Union College. “My education at Union has meant the world to me,” declares Margaret. Her gift will establish two nursing scholarships, one to assist students with educational expenses and the other to assist faculty with continuing education.
To find out more about establishing a unitrust, see our giving opportunities.