Vivian Nolte
Photo: Ronald Blaum/CWS
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DAUGHTER HONORS HER PARENTS BY ESTABLISHING AN ENDOWMENT
Story: Ronald Blaum/CWS
Always a free spirit, Vivian Nolte was fresh from a two-week trip to Alaska when we met with her in June of 2004. Not too bad for an 83 year old. One of two daughters born to R.C. and Eva Finley, Ms. Nolte shared her many fond memories and the wonderful values she learned from her parents, who were educators turned small business owners in Hiawatha, Kansas.
During the height of the Great Depression, as teachers' salaries were being cut, Ms. Nolte's parents were brave enough to pursue a career change. They managed to save $400 and used it to buy lumber, rent a building, and establish the Finley Lumber Company. From that humble beginning, the family business flourished and grew.
"My parents ran a successful business and they were very giving people," Vivian Nolte remembers. "From a very young age, my mother was interested in becoming a missionary. However, with the lumber company to operate, her energies were redirected to bookkeeping and teaching her faith and values to my sister and me. She modeled her interest in helping others through her support of Church World Service."
With a degree in English and journalism, Ms. Nolte lived in Washington, D.C., Denver, and other places before returning to her roots in Hiawatha. At 37, she married her now-deceased husband, Ernie, an accountant. She worked with him in that business and they had twelve wonderful years together before he passed away very suddenly.
With no children of her own and with her parents and sister now gone, Ms. Nolte describes herself as the "last leaf on the tree." Inspired by her family's long connection to Church World Service and through her own frequent participation in CROP Hunger Walks, last summer Ms. Nolte took the generous step of establishing a large gift annuity with CWS that will provide her with income for life. After that, Ms. Nolte has directed that the remainder of the annuity be used to establish the R.C. Finley Family Endowment, which will support the work of Church World Service for generations to come.
When asked about her motivation for setting up the annuity, Vivian Nolte is matter-of-fact in stating, "I'm trying to help the people served through Church World Service. My family has been blessed and I am pleased to honor my parents and sister through this gift."
You, too, can support the ministry of Church World Service both today and into the future. It's easy. Just call 1-800-297-1516. A planned giving officer is available to assist you and your advisors.