Gary & Mary Ann Peterson "Grandpa & Grandma Pete" Memorial Fund
Fund Type
Donor Advised
Donor Advised
Established
01/17/2005
01/17/2005
Purpose
This fund supports the donor's philanthropic efforts by allowing them to choose which organizations receive grant distributions in memory of Gary & Mary Ann Peterson.
This fund supports the donor's philanthropic efforts by allowing them to choose which organizations receive grant distributions in memory of Gary & Mary Ann Peterson.
Story
Grandma Pete's special passion was teaching little ones to read. After she taught her own 2 children, a nephew that she and her husband Gary nurtured for awhile, and her two grandchildren, she began to volunteer at her grandchildren's elementary school. She asked to work one on one with the students who were struggling the most. She was immensely proud to spend time with those little ones and just marveled at their progress. In her own words, "If I could state any one thing as my one great accomplishment in my life, it would be teaching of little guys to read." One would never know that May Ann had been a struggling student as a child and read her first book at age 43 (an autobiography of Henry Ford). It was then she came to finally understand her reading handicap. She also finally understood the immense pleasure and the chance to learn new things that comes with reading. When Mary Ann passed away at age 60, her family decided they wanted to encourage something other than flowers as a tribute to Mary Ann. "It was at this time that the idea of this memorial fund was born. We thought that we would try to set up a fund that could be used to do the work that Mary Ann loved to do, help kids to read," said her husband Gary. "I have to say that our family and friends came through in a fantastic way and funded this memorial to Mary Ann," continued Gary. As Mary Ann was fond of saying, "If you can read, you can learn anything!"
Grandma Pete's special passion was teaching little ones to read. After she taught her own 2 children, a nephew that she and her husband Gary nurtured for awhile, and her two grandchildren, she began to volunteer at her grandchildren's elementary school. She asked to work one on one with the students who were struggling the most. She was immensely proud to spend time with those little ones and just marveled at their progress. In her own words, "If I could state any one thing as my one great accomplishment in my life, it would be teaching of little guys to read." One would never know that May Ann had been a struggling student as a child and read her first book at age 43 (an autobiography of Henry Ford). It was then she came to finally understand her reading handicap. She also finally understood the immense pleasure and the chance to learn new things that comes with reading. When Mary Ann passed away at age 60, her family decided they wanted to encourage something other than flowers as a tribute to Mary Ann. "It was at this time that the idea of this memorial fund was born. We thought that we would try to set up a fund that could be used to do the work that Mary Ann loved to do, help kids to read," said her husband Gary. "I have to say that our family and friends came through in a fantastic way and funded this memorial to Mary Ann," continued Gary. As Mary Ann was fond of saying, "If you can read, you can learn anything!"