Donor Spotlight: West Coast Family Leaves Society Lasting Legacy

How did a Washington state couple with six children, eight grandchildren, and one great-grandchild find a creative and valuable way to make a substantial gift to the Society’s endowment?

By donating an existing life insurance policy to NEHGS, Loren and Muriel Winterscheid of Mercer Island, Washington, are able to support NEHGS in perpetuity. The Winterscheids share an abiding interest in America’s past and a love and pride in family, and this gift underscores their sense of connection to the Society’s mission.

Muriel’s passion for genealogy began as a child while sitting on her grandmother Josie McPherson Oliver’s porch in Pomeroy, Washington. The family who gathered there told wonderful stories about crossing the Oregon Territory by wagon, and riding immigration trains that carried people and cattle to California. Muriel, fascinated by these stories, began studying her family history.

Muriel first met Gary Boyd Roberts in 1990 at a genealogical conference in Seattle. Reviewing Muriel’s research, he noted that she was a descendant of kings via Walter Aston and Lancelot Bathurst. And, like Mr. Roberts, she was related to Pocahontas. In the interest of furthering her research, Mr. Roberts encouraged her to visit NEHGS in Boston.

When Loren and Muriel visited a daughter at Harvard Law School, a week-long sojourn in Boston allowed them to explore the Society’s offerings and discuss their research with the staff, including Dr. Ralph J. Crandall, who became their good friend, and Mr. Roberts, who continued to assist them in Boston as well as on NEHGS trips to Salt Lake City and Seattle. Mr. Roberts also assisted Loren in his research of family lines which included Louis Dubois, Jacob Van Meteren, and Thomas Shepherd.

Following Arthur Fiske’s retirement in 1996, Muriel assumed the presidency of the Fiske Genealogical Library in Seattle’s Pioneer Hall. Dr. Crandall presented a gift of early records from New England compiled by NEHGS to the fledgling Fiske electronic database. “The Society has been an excellent role model for other organizations,” Muriel said. “The members of the Fiske Library have felt NEHGS to be ‘kin of kin.’”

The Winterscheids wanted to repay NEHGS for assistance they had received over the years. By donating an existing life insurance policy to the Society, they were able to support NEHGS and generate a tax deduction for their estate without spending money out-of-pocket.

This particular method of planned giving is simple, and donors of life insurance policies find they are able to be generous to an organization without changing their personal finances. Donors of policies often find they are capable of a larger gift than they might otherwise have been able to afford outright. Dividends from the policy can pay for yearly premiums. Naming NEHGS as beneficiary enables estates to receive valuable charitable tax deductions.

Loren and Muriel’s planned gift means that they can donate generously to an organization for which they care deeply; it also insures support for the Society’s endowment. “Everyone should be proud of their family and its wonderful stories. To be able to give back to the Society that helped find your family is such a treat.” With this gift, the Winterscheids have helped guarantee that other researchers will have the same opportunities in years to come.

Claudia Woods
Director of Development

Elise Burgess
Associate Director of Development