Creating a Lasting Legacy

Spring 2022 - Couple's gift honors family's longstanding passion for Baylor

Being a part of the Baylor Family has been a constant throughout David Kulesz's life. "I remember listening to Frank Fallon announce Baylor football and basketball games on the radio in my parent's den when I was a boy," he said. "There was never a doubt that my brother and I would attend Baylor."

David's brother, John (BA '66, MA '68), was the first to travel to Waco from the family's home in Fort Worth, where their father, Matthew John Kulesz Sr., served as an engineer at the television station KTVT. David followed in his brother's footsteps at Baylor, earning a BBA in 1977 and a JD in 1979.

He credited the financial help provided by his parents - in addition to grants, jobs and scholarships provided by others - with enabling him and his brother to achieve their goal of becoming Baylor graduates. "Our parents strived greatly to make sure we had the resources to accomplish our dreams," he said.

"I loved my time at Baylor," David said. A member of the ATO fraternity, he worked at the Baylor Marina under former basketball coach Bill Menefee and valued classes with history professor James Vardaman and law professor Matt Dawson. "Dr. Vardaman gave me an intense interest in history, which continues to this day, and I am forever grateful to Prof. Dawson for preparing me for the practical aspects of a trial practice."

Baylor Ties

David met his wife, Peggy, on a blind date during his time in Waco. She was studying at Howard Payne University but soon began spending time at Baylor while they dated. After their wedding in 1977, she taught locally in the LaVega ISD and went on to earn both a master's degree and a PhD from the University of Texas at Arlington, where she currently serves as a senior lecturer in English.

With David and Peggy's belief in the importance of education, and a passion for the Baylor Bears, it should come as no surprise that their children, Zachary Kulesz (BA '05) and Katie Kulesz Humphreys (BA '08), also became members of that Good Old Baylor Line.

David is quick to observe, however, that the family's Green and Gold credentials all started with his mother, Marguerite Claire Terrell Kulesz.

Marguerite grew up in Fort Stockton, Texas, and in 1936 won a prize in extemporaneous speech from the University Interscholastic League in Austin. Using a small scholarship that came with the award to enroll in Baylor that fall, she became the first of her family to attend college.

"Although she was able to attend but one year, due to a lack of finances, she acquired a love for Baylor that she never lost," David said. After eventually graduating from Texas Women's University in Denton, she met Matthew John Kulesz during World War II, and they soon married.

Effective Philanthropy

When their mother died in 2000, David and his brother established the Marguerite Terrell Kulesz Memorial Endowed Fund at Baylor to honor her love for Baylor and in tribute to her long career as a teacher.

Since then, many Baylor students who are entering the field of education have benefitted from the family's philanthropy.

Following the death of David's father, in 2010, and a recent opportunity for David and Peggy to sell their interest in his law firm's building in Arlington, Texas, they decided to make a good thing even better by calling Baylor's Office of Gift Planning to determine the best way to use this asset to enhance his mother's scholarship fund.

"Peggy and I felt this would continue to honor my mother and help future students to be able to attend Baylor when that might otherwise prove difficult," David said.

David and Peggy created a charitable remainder trust, funded with their share of the real estate. This type of gift allows the funds to be invested with qualified professionals, giving the couple an income stream for life.

And because the trust sold the asset, rather than David and Peggy, they were able to avoid capital gains taxes. Baylor - and, specifically, the scholarship honoring David's mother - will benefit from what remains in the trust after all the trust payments have been made.

"My wife and I are truly blessed to be able, in this small way, to provide a lasting legacy for Baylor and to help future students," David said.