On behalf of The Latin School of Chicago, we would like to thank all of our current donors for their generosity and support.

Katherine Selz Mayer

Last spring, Mrs. Mayer established a gift annuity at Latin and hopes that others will follow her example. Gift annuities provide a steady source of life-income as well as significant tax benefits. In a recent conversation, Mrs. Mayer described gift annuities as “an excellent vehicle for giving painlessly.”

[read more about Katherine]

Catherine Emmons Phelps ’62

The seven years that Catherine Emmons Phelps ’62 spent at Latin had a lasting impact on her life. “I feel a close bond to Latin,” she says, “Latin has always been central to my life, and education has always been a priority for my family.” For these reasons, Catherine selected Latin as one of the beneficiaries in her estate plan.

In October, Catherine and several of her classmates got together during Homecoming & Reunion Weekend. “We realized during dinner that all of us were extremely influenced by Dr. Dolezal.” Whatever their chosen profession—doctor, lawyer, or interior designer—all “love to write” and credit Dr. Dolezal for honing their skills.

Catherine’s generosity will help to ensure that the next generation of Latin students will have teachers like Dr. Dolezal, who empower their students to become passionate life-long learners.

Bill and Marjorie Marston

“I can’t remember a day that I wasn’t eager to go to school,” says former Lower School director and 1888 Society member, Marjorie Marston.

Mrs. Marston, who also served as a first grade teacher and the director of the reading lab, remembers her years at Latin with great affection.

“No one,” she says, “had more fun teaching than I.”

Mrs. Marston had an opportunity for a lot of fun during her 30-year Latin career, begun in 1942. She fondly remembers Monday morning chapel when first grader (Broadway actress) Polly Pen would sing the Lord’s Prayer like an opera singer. She remembers guiding her students through hands-on learning projects: building teepees, igloos, and rocket ships, or watching chickens hatch in an incubator. She enjoyed the times when she and music teacher Mary Maj helped students stage musical dramas, like Cinderella in Space.

Her students have fond memories of her, too. Many remain in contact with her after all these years, exchanging holiday cards, letters, and phone calls, and taking a drive out to the Marston home in Wenona for a visit. Many credit her with laying the foundation of their future academic success.

Mrs. Marston maintains contact with many of her former colleagues for whom she has great respect and admiration, “They were a self-sufficient group of professionals who built strong relationships with parents, students, and colleagues alike,” she says.

Through Bill and Marjorie Marston’s gift, they will provide ongoing support for the quality of education that Mrs. Marton is remembered for today. When asked what prompted her to include Latin in her estate plans, Mrs. Marston answers simply: “Latin is the greatest school in the whole world.”