Life Insurance Gift Results in Benefits for Donors and Students

J. Robert (Bob) and Joan Loslo had always planned to include Wartburg College in their wills. They met as Wartburg students, and because they had no children, they decided the college would be the beneficiary of their estate. It was a financial advisor who suggested the Loslos do more.

"He said we needed to make a gift before we died because we would get a benefit," Joan recalls.

The advisor was referring to the tax deduction they would receive from their life insurance payments, but even more benefits accrued.

The Loslos were already active at Wartburg, where Joan '59 had worked for several years at the library. In retirement, Bob '58 took classes in photography and became the unofficial and highly regarded game-day photographer for the Wartburg football team. "But establishing the life insurance policy brought us even closer to the college because we became more and more involved," Joan says.

The Loslos' philanthropy expanded with their involvement. They established a Great Expectations Scholarship, and when Bob died suddenly of a heart attack in January 2007, gifts in his memory funded the J. Robert Loslo Theatre Scholarship, a fitting tribute to his longtime involvement in community theatre.

Joan still volunteers at Wartburg and spends an afternoon each week at the Vogel Library. She also serves on other various boards and committees.