Donor Stories

Nancy Guenther Continues Late Husband’s Support of Colgate with Gifts of Her Own

Hans Guenther ’42 worked tirelessly as a member of Colgate’s Advancement staff to raise support for the University. His widow, Nancy, is continuing the family legacy with gifts of her own.

Doing her part in the Passion for the Climb Campaign, Mrs. Guenther established a single-life gift annuity in 2005 designed to support the Guenther Endowed Scholarship Fund for student athletes. This meant a lot to her, because Hans was able to attend Colgate on a football scholarship. “He fell in love with the place,” she remembered. He was captain of the football team his senior year and majored in psychology.

In addition to her annuity, since her husband’s death in 2003, Mrs. Guenther makes outright gifts that qualify her for active membership in the Presidents’ Club, Colgate’s recognition society for leadership donors.

Hans, a former Marine, was working for Fidelity Mutual Insurance when he asked for a leave
of absence to help the University with a fundraising campaign. “Hans had always said he wanted to do something to repay his alma mater,” Mrs. Guenther noted.

He never went back to Fidelity, running the University’s New York City office until he retired in the 1990s. His wife has memories of formal Presidents’ Club dinners and auto trips to meet donors, Hans reviewing his notes in the passenger seat while she drove.

The couple has three children and eight grandchildren—including a sophomore at Colgate. “Hans would have been so thrilled to see our grandson at Colgate,” Mrs. Guenther said.

More than two decades ago, the Guenthers enjoyed a windfall in the values of some stock. Rather than paying extra taxes, the couple decided to use their stock to establish two pooled funds that continue to provide Mrs. Guenther with a stream of income—just as the charitable gift annuity does.

“It’s important to help other students get a good education,” said Mrs. Guenther, a Colorado College graduate. “I would hope Colgate and my school continue to have such high standards, so graduates can do great things for our country.”