A Gift of a Quincy Education
George and Mary Nell Meyer Endow QU Student Scholarships
George and Mary Nell Meyer combined their annual support of Quincy University with an estate gift so that future QU students will benefit from scholarship opportunities for generations to come.
Reflecting back on more than 50 years of marriage and successful careers, George and Mary Nell Meyer are very grateful to Quincy University.
George attended his first year of college near his hometown of East St. Louis, Illinois. At the urging of his parents, who feared that he would quit college and get married, he transferred to QC.
"I was the first in my family to attend college, and I think my parents were committed more than I was to me becoming a college graduate," George says.
Similarly, Mary Nell's parents decided that she would attend QC. "I graduated at age 16 and had no idea about where or if I wanted to go to college," Mary Nell says. "I had the little girl's idea of becoming a teacher. One day, my father announced I would be attending Quincy College and that we needed to go and arrange it."
George and Mary Nell met at a "townie party" their first year at QC. "She had come because she had heard my roommate was going to be there, but he left early and she got stuck with me-for life," George says.
"The two people who had the greatest impact on me at QC were my two coaches, John Ortwerth and Dr. David Costigan," George says. He also credits Fr. Phil Hoebing, brother Clete VanAckeren and Fr. Pacific Hug. Mary Nell also remembers Dr. Costigan fondly, as well as Fr. Francis Jerome Gray and Fr. Landry Genosky.
Following graduation from QC, George had no intention of ever going back to school, but that changed. "I was not a stellar student by any means." George says, "But evidentially, QC prepared me extremely well in academics since I did go back to college and earned both my master's from Truman State [Northeast Missouri State] and my doctorate from the University of Missouri-Columbia within nine years after I graduated from QC."
For 34 years, George served as a teacher, coach and administrator in the Quincy Public School district, and was superintendent his last four years. After retiring from the Quincy school district, George taught at Quincy University and served as the Dean of the School of Education.
Following her lifelong dream of being an educator, Mary Nell taught history at Quincy Junior High School and in a hospital's teen psychiatric unit. "She is the love of my life and the supportive stalwart for our family life and me in my professional life," George says.
The Meyers have expressed their gratitude for Quincy University through gifts of time, talent and treasure. "When we were younger and raising a family, we were unable to give much financially, but contributed to QC/QU by serving on committees and volunteering for events," Mary Nell says. "Now that we are older and our children are successful on their own, we have the freedom to be more generous monetarily."
"We support the endowed scholarship funds of those professors who meant the most to us at QC. We also feel the need to help future students be able to attend QU without piling up huge student loans," George says.
Most recently, the Meyers established an Endowed Speakers fund, which will be funded partially through an estate gift. "We want to leave a legacy that will continue to support institutions and future students in perpetuity," George says.
Create Your QU Legacy Today
Join George and Mary Nell in supporting current and future QU students by making a planned gift today. Please contact Julie Bell, vice president for university advancement, at (217) 228-5229 or bellju@quincy.edu.
Information contained herein was accurate at the time of posting. The information on this website is not intended as legal or tax advice. For such advice, please consult an attorney or tax advisor. Figures cited in any examples are for illustrative purposes only. References to tax rates include federal taxes only and are subject to change. State law may further impact your individual results. California residents: Annuities are subject to regulation by the State of California. Payments under such agreements, however, are not protected or otherwise guaranteed by any government agency or the California Life and Health Insurance Guarantee Association. Oklahoma residents: A charitable gift annuity is not regulated by the Oklahoma Insurance Department and is not protected by a guaranty association affiliated with the Oklahoma Insurance Department. South Dakota residents: Charitable gift annuities are not regulated by and are not under the jurisdiction of the South Dakota Division of Insurance.