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Donor Stories

Donor Stories

Learn how others have made an impact through their acts of giving to our organization and others.

  • Legendary Love
    Legendary Love
    Summer 2023 - For generations of Baylor alumni, Tom Hanks, A.B.C. '22, Ph.D., suited, smiling and sporting a trilby, was as ubiquitous to the University's campus as Dr Pepper Hour or the overly-friendly squirrels in the Quad.
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  • A Rewarding Connection
    A Rewarding Connection
    Fall 2023 - For many Baylor students, receiving a scholarship plays an important role in achieving their goal of earning a Baylor degree. The funds go a long way toward reducing...
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  • Bleeding Green & Gold
    Bleeding Green & Gold
    Fall 2023 - Tami and Jeff Williams can thank a time-honored Baylor tradition for bringing them together – Welcome Week. "I met Tami on my very first day on Baylor's campus. She was standing on a...
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  • Honoring a Spiritual Legacy
    Honoring a Spiritual Legacy
    Spring 2024 - When Matt Bristol met his first wife, the late Betty Hess Bristol, he knew he had found someone special. She was a Baylor University freshman in the process of...
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  • Giving With Gratitude
    Giving With Gratitude
    Spring 2024 - Dr. Robert and Barbara Whitten both say they are grateful to be able to financially support Baylor University through planned giving, believing that their alma mater...
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  • Opening Doors for Others
    Opening Doors for Others
    Fall 2024 - When Shirley Clemons Hunter reflects on her days as a Baylor student, two words come to mind — determination and gratitude.
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  • A Lifetime Connection
    A Lifetime Connection
    Fall 2024 - One of Jennifer Henderson's favorite things about the Baylor Family is how the close friendships she formed during her first year at Baylor University have only gotten stronger over the years.
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  • Stewards of God's Blessings
    Stewards of God's Blessings
    Spring 2023 - Steve and Alyce Beard share a deep love for Baylor University, one with many common elements. However, they joined the Baylor Family by dramatically different routes.
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  • A Baylor Family Gives Back
    A Baylor Family Gives Back
    Spring 2023 - For Don Kennedy, what began as a brief visit to Baylor University's campus as part of a church group during his senior year in high school has become a long family tradition of being Baylor Bears.
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  • A Life Dedicated to Service
    A Life Dedicated to Service
    Fall 2022 - When William "Bill" Dube joined the staff of Baylor University's financial aid office, the scope of the financial aid program was modest by today's standards.
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  • Notes of Gratitude
    Notes of Gratitude
    Fall 2022 - A love for Baylor University has flowed through Judy Langford Mellenbruch's life like a sweet melody, uniting different time periods and growing stronger over the years.
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  • A Great Joy
    A Great Joy
    Spring 2022 – Soon after joining Baylor University's faculty in 2000, Randall Bradley was inspired by a School of Music colleague's philanthropy...
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  • Creating a Lasting Legacy
    Creating a Lasting Legacy
    Spring 2022 – Being a part of the Baylor Family has been a constant throughout David Kulesz's life. ..
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  • A Heart for Serving Others
    A Heart for Serving Others
    Fall 2021 - Joan Matthews remembers the day she met her future husband, Ronald "Ronnie" Matthews, as clearly as if it were yesterday.
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  • A Shared Love for Baylor
    A Shared Love for Baylor
    Barbara Johnston recalls that her late husband, Robert "Bob" Johnston (B.B.A. '62).
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  • Brig. Gen. Jan
    Brig. Gen. Jan "Denny" Eakle
    Spring 2021 - For most of her life, Brig. Gen. Jan "Denny" Eakle has been on the move. "My father was in the Navy, and we moved so often...
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  • Larry Smith
    Larry Smith
    Spring 2021 - Larry Smith says that when he returned to his alma mater more than two decades ago to join Baylor University's development...
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  • Absolute Joy
    Absolute Joy
    Fall 2020 - Dr. John Bishop's first experience with Baylor University came early in life. While growing up in Bellmead, just north of...
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  • The Gift of a Lifetime
    The Gift of a Lifetime
    Fall 2020 - You could say that Baylor University is in Dale Knight's blood. You could even say he bleeds green and gold, even though...
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  • Leaving a Lasting Legacy
    Leaving a Lasting Legacy
    Fall 2019 - Charles Pinkoson enjoyed a remarkable career as an ophthalmologist in Gainesville, Florida, where...
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  • Creating Opportunities
    Creating Opportunities
    Fall 2019 - When Doug and Natalie Freeman look back on their Baylor years, they are in complete agreement about...
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  • A Passion for Missions
    A Passion for Missions
    Spring 2019 - Each year, thousands of Baylor students participate in Missions Week, which brings missions organizations from all...
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  • An Opportunity For Success
    An Opportunity For Success
    Fall 2018 - As a young man growing up in Depression-era Port Arthur, Texas, George McCoy rarely traveled beyond the confines of the...
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  • Creating A Legacy
    Creating A Legacy
    Fall 2018 - Joel and Diane Allison exemplify the Baylor spirit. Prior to graduating with a BA in journalism and religion in 1970, Joel was...
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  • An Enduring Legacy
    An Enduring Legacy
    Spring 2018 - For Michael and Gail Attas, making a planned gift to Baylor University was a natural - and powerful - extension of their...
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  • A Passion for Helping
    A Passion for Helping
    Spring 2018 - As a young girl reading National Geographic, Marilyn Souchek (BA '68) would often ponder a fundamental question - "Who...
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  • Making A Difference
    Making A Difference
    Fall 2017 - As the daughter of a Navy officer, Kerry Crider Towle (BA '66) spent her childhood on the go. Every two years, the Criders...
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  • An Act of Faith
    An Act of Faith
    Spring 2017 - The stories of Ronda Dale Massey (BA, '68) and Preston Kirk (BA, '68) first intersected at Baylor, where the two...
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  • Touching the Hearts of Others
    Touching the Hearts of Others
    Spring 2017 - Tommy Minter (BBA '62) was a Baylor legend who never saw himself that way. Although he told his wife...
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  • For Many Years to Come
    For Many Years to Come
    Fall 2016 - According to Laurie Nielsen, when she and her husband got married in 1978, "we didn't have two nickels to rub together."
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  • Deep in the Heart
    Deep in the Heart
    Spring 2016 - For D.M. Edwards (BBA '76), an exhortation from former Baylor President Abner McCall became a personal mission statement...
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  • A Heart for Baylor
    A Heart for Baylor
    Spring 2016 - Twenty-five years ago, Baylor University established a special way to recognize and celebrate the generosity of alumni...
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  • A Source Of Inspiration: Couple Makes Gift To Advance Baylor Mission
    A Source Of Inspiration: Couple Makes Gift To Advance Baylor Mission
    Fall 2015 - Far away from their home in Texas, John (BBA '79) and...
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  • Standing Tall: Alumnus Makes An Impact On His Alma Mater
    Standing Tall: Alumnus Makes An Impact On His Alma Mater
    Fall 2015 - When the $18.1 million Clyde Hart Track and Field Stadium...
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  • A Teacher's Heart Keeps Giving
    A Teacher's Heart Keeps Giving
    Fall 2009 - Being a teacher is more than merely teaching-it's about a remarkable spirit-a teacher's heart. Janice (BA '58, MS '61, EdD '74)...
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  • A Life of Sharing
    A Life of Sharing
    Fall 2013 - But one picture in particular would stand out. It's a photograph of Benegene Gann Kring (BA '66) - a rare woman among...
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  • The Roots of a Baylor Family Tree
    The Roots of a Baylor Family Tree
    Spring 2013 - Far away from the campus they called home for more than five decades, beloved Baylor physics professor...
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  • Giving to Generations
    Giving to Generations
    Spring 2013 - W. F. Bill (BBA '55) and Mary Ann (BA '54) Patterson were both Baylor students.
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  • The Hope of Generations
    The Hope of Generations
    Fall 2013 - When Laree Perez (BBA '76) hears her cousin's son, Giuliano Masci, rave about his experience as a Baylor freshman.
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  • Making Baylor Stronger
    Making Baylor Stronger
    Spring 2015 - For more than four decades now, Dr. David Mangelsdorff has called Army-Baylor home.
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  • Many Branches
    Many Branches
    Spring 2015 - A fourth-generation Baylor graduate, Sarah Lou (BBA '57) and her family are the epitome of the term.
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  • A Special Place - Trains, Games and a Baylor Legacy
    A Special Place - Trains, Games and a Baylor Legacy
    Fall 2014 - The house looks exactly like a train station with its eye...
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  • A Heart for the Future
    A Heart for the Future
    Fall 2014 - "We had a business school, but it didn't have its own building," Jack recalled.
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  • Race of a Lifetime
    Race of a Lifetime
    Spring 2014 - A self-admitted geeky introvert, Bertha Heard Dunlap's firstborn roomed off-campus in the non-pretentious Fifth Street...
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  • Leaving a Great Legacy - The Mattie Allen Story
    Leaving a Great Legacy - The Mattie Allen Story
    Fall 2017 - It isn't that surprising when someone who has fond...
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  • A Desire to Help Others
    A Desire to Help Others
    Belinda Onyango has devoted her adult life to serving the children of her native Kenya. When she was just out of high school, Belinda...
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  • A Bright Path Forward
    A Bright Path Forward
    As an exercise physiology major at Baylor, Chelsea Richwine accidentally signed up for the wrong economics course.
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