A Gift to Grow the Centre Family

The plans Tom and Edith Harmon made decades ago are still making a difference for good in the lives of Centre students. Tom was a member of the class of 1936, but his experience here gave him the tools to succeed in his career and life. In 2004, Centre received the first gift from his estate, and then several other planned gifts matured after Edith's death, all of which we used to create the William T. Harmon Scholarship.

One of the current scholarship holders is first-year Matt Calvert '19. He's the first in his family to attend Centre, but he is now part of a Centre family that extends back at least 80 years. Matt said he is gratified to know that people he will never meet are helping him pay for college.

"It's truly the Centre way, to make sure that everyone else is provided for," he says. A member of the men's swim team, a new member of the Phi Kappa Tau fraternity, and a likely science major, Matt is the kind of active and involved student Tom and Edith would be glad to help.

The scholarship honors Tom, who grew up in nearby Perryville. Money was tight for Tom's family during the Great Depression and he could attend Centre for only two years, but he felt the experience. He finished college at the University of Kentucky, then had a long career at General Electric.

Before settling in Dayton, Tom and his family lived in Cincinnati, on the same street as Bill Breeze '45, and they struck up a friendship. Tom later worked with Bill, by this time a member of the College staff, to make several gift arrangements to benefit Centre students. Altogether, Tom and Edith created three gifts: a pooled income fund gift, earning a steady income during their lifetime, then leaving the balance to Centre; a charitable remainder unitrust that benefited Centre and other charities; and, finally, they named Centre the beneficiary of their investment account. Tom died in 2001 and Edith in 2004.

Learn More 
To find out how you can support future generations of Centre students, please contact Jamey Leahey '92 to talk about the many ways you can make that happen, using both current assets as well as future gifts through your estate. Contact Jamey at (859) 238-5522 or justin.ewing@centre.edu, or visit the planned giving website at plannedgiving.centre.edu.