Many people don’t like to think about what happens after they’re gone. Earl Kinjerski and Patricia Schoenborn-Kinjerski aren’t only thinking about it, the De Pere couple has made extensive preparations.

Earl Kinjerski and Patricia Schoenborn-Kinjerski

Locked away in their safe are the obituaries they wrote a few years back and a special plaque for their cemetery marker commemorating Earl’s service in the U.S. Army. When it came time to decide what would happen to their financial assets, they hesitated.

“We started working on our wills. We don’t have any children, and we were having a hard time deciding where we’d want our assets to go,” explained Patti.

The couple wanted to establish a scholarship for students attending their alma maters. Earl graduated from Kewaunee High School in 1969, and Patti graduated from New Holstein High School in 1979. Their attorney directed them to the Community Foundation for help putting their plan in place.

“I told Patti and Earl that as a legal advisor and a current Community Foundation board member that the Community Foundation staff had excellent experience in helping individuals and families to first clarify their charitable goals, and then put those goals into a practical and workable framework,” said Ben Adams, attorney, Adams & Woodrow, S.C.

Michelle Lippart Hardwick, director of gift planning, and Jill Muthig, donor services and scholarship manager, helped the couple establish their Earl Kinjerski and Patricia Schoenborn-Kinjerski Scholarship Fund through their estate.

With their future gift, Earl and Patti are the newest members of our Himebaugh Legacy Circle, a group of more than 275 people who have made future plans for their favorite charitable causes through a bequest or similar deferred gift to the Foundation.

“Michelle and Jill made the process so easy,” Patti said. “With two lifetimes of hard work, it feels nice to know our estate gift will keep our memory alive and allow our money to grow in a good way after we’re gone.”