When Mary Grist passed away in 2020 at the age of 91, her family knew they wanted to continue her passion for giving.

More than two decades ago, Mary and her late husband Jim Grist established an endowment fund, the Jim and Mary Grist Family Fund within the Community Foundation. Last year their five children participated in deciding to make a grant to the City of Appleton to place a memorial bench along the Fox River Trail in Appleton.

Mary and Jim Grist

“Our family is delighted that the Appleton community has been turning toward the river, embracing it with walking paths and benches to enjoy views and the river’s wildlife,” said their daughter, Julie Grist. “I bet our parents are very happy to know support from their fund is going toward a bench and the building of pathways along the Fox River. We are eager to sit on that bench when it’s done and marvel at the Fox River just as mom and dad once did.”

In 2016 the Community Foundation helped Jim and Mary establish an after-lifetime plan for their fund, which included an estate gift. That gift will support their favorite charities in perpetuity as well as established the Jim and Mary Grist Fund for Waupaca, within our Waupaca Area Community Foundation partner that will enhance the environmental and ecological health of the Waupaca Chain O’ Lakes system and natural surroundings, forever.

Are you interested in creating a legacy through a planned gift? Contact Michelle Lippart Hardwick at [email protected], or 920.702.7622.