(WGTD)---A $1.2 million bequest from a Caledonia couple’s estate to the Gateway Foundation has become the school’s largest gift ever. The announcement was made Tuesday.
Otto Tarnowski, a retired sheet metal craftsman, and his wife, Beverly, who once worked for the phone company and later managed the couple’s hobby farm, lived a frugal life and had no children. The couple took an interest in Gateway’s mission eight years ago and became friends of the college. Otto died in 2012. Beverly passed away in 2017.
In 2013, a Tarnowski family donation of over $800,000 enabled Gateway to expand the SC Johnson iMET Center.
A little less than half of the new gift will be allocated to the endowment fund for Gateway’s Promise program, bringing the total size of the account to $2.7 million. The intent of the program is to remove finances at a stumbling block for hard-working students who are pursuing a degree.
The rest of the bequest will fill an emergency fund for students, and will be used to help finance short-term training programs in the manufacturing sector.
In a news release, Gateway President Bryan Albrecht said the Tarnowskis will live on in the hopes and dreams of thousands of students in the years ahead.
Said Foundation Executive Director Jenifer Charpentier: "We are fortunate Beverly and Otto chose Gateway and the Foundation as the way to share their passion for the dignity of work and the opportunities hard work can bring. Our community is stronger by their decision to invest in youth through education."
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