Celebrating the Past, Securing the Future — Gift Annuity

Ann Leverenz Keckonen '64 and Jon Keckonen '64

When Lawrence consolidated with Milwaukee-Downer in 1964, Jon and Ann Leverenz Keckonen had no way of knowing that 50 years later they would be celebrating not only their 50th reunion, but also the fact that five consecutive generations of their family are now Lawrentians. Ann's grandmother attended Milwaukee-Downer in the Class of 1920. Ann's father graduated from Lawrence in 1940. Ann and Jon met at Lawrence in their sophomore year, and they were married three months after their graduation in 1964. Their daughter Beth Keckonen Hejl graduated in 1991, and are proud grandparents of Beth's daughter Stephanie Vahlsing Class of 2015.

"We feel strongly that a liberal arts education is a huge benefit in facing all kinds of challenges the world presents. We appreciated the outstanding faculty, the close-knit community of students, the introduction to a wide variety of disciplines and the great friends we made on campus. Because we live in Wisconsin, it is easy to stay connected to Lawrence through reunions, especially our 50th. Naturally each return to campus evokes many memories for both of us."

Jon and Ann have been longtime members of the Founders Club and made a qualified charitable distribution from Jon's IRA. Using appreciated stock, Jon and Ann set up a charitable gift annuity—a gift that provides them income now and will eventually fund a scholarship for Lawrence students. Also, they both have bequests to Lawrence in their wills. "We are grateful for the financial assistance our daughter and granddaughter received at Lawrence and we consider it a privilege to be able to support the school that has done so much for our whole family."