Kathryn Sime, assistant vice chancellor for major & planned giving, reflects on her first solo donor meeting with SIU alumna and generous benefactor, Marilea Koch.

I met Marilea Koch (SIU, BS, 1952) in the fall of 2018. I was a new development officer for the SIU Foundation, primarily focused on working with alumni from the School of Education. Marilea was my first solo donor meeting, and I was so nervous walking up to the front door of her modest duplex in Salem, Illinois. She was a retired high school English and speech teacher, struggling with macular degeneration. While there was nothing in her home that would have hinted that Marilea could make a major gift to support Southern Illinois University, her 23 years of giving were an indicator of her deep love for SIU. At the end of our visit, I took a breath and bravely asked if she had ever considered leaving a planned gift to benefit SIU. She responded with a smile and said “I wondered if you would ask about that.”

Marilea explained that she had already included SIU in her estate plans in hopes of establishing a scholarship in memory of her parents. I worked with her on the language for the scholarship, and ultimately, we established the Edward and Elizabeth Ann Paddison Scholarship Endowment Fund. She declined to share an estimated amount for the scholarship, but did confirm that it would likely meet the minimum of $25,000 required for an endowment. I returned multiple times and kept in touch with Marilea. She never wanted any publicity for her gift commitment and continued to support her beloved SIU every year.

Marilea lived simply her entire life up until her death at 93 this past January. When her estate trustee, also an SIU alumnus, called me to confirm details of her estate gift, he shared that Marilea’s gift was indeed sufficient to meet the minimum endowment level, and in fact, would likely exceed $600,000 to provide scholarships for SIU students from Southern Illinois. In addition, Marilea’s quiet philanthropy included generous gifts to her church and local public library. Her incredible gift will support SIU students for generations. I am grateful to have known Marilea and thrilled by her generosity.

Learn how you can make a lasting legacy at SIU: siufgiving.org