An Amazing Dose of Generosity

We read a little bit of feel-good news in The News Tribune this morning; University Place couple Don and Mary Williams gave The Greater Tacoma Community Foundation an understated little gift of $15 million. The $15 million gift, which only became known after Don passed away in 2003, and Mary followed him in 2010, will allow at least $600,000 to be distributed to the community annually, increasing the Foundation’s grant making capacity by more than 20%.

The couple were quiet, but involved members of the community, who didn’t wait for their wills to donate, but also never seem to have sought attention for their generosity. Don Williams was a financial advisor for the Foundation when it was getting its start, and both he and Mary took leadership roles in a range of community institutions. Mary was a gardener, involved in the Tacoma Garden Club the Point Defiance Native Garden, as well as a variety of other clubs and organizations.

This is a wonderful gift to our community, and we are grateful to and inspired by this couple’s spirit of service. It’s difficult to do justice to this kind of generosity, particularly posthumously, so we’ll just leave it with a simple thank you.

Read the article from The News Tribune