At St. Louis University High School, Tom Bashwiner ’57 embraced the opportunity to maximize his potential and set the trajectory for his life. Today, he is showing his gratitude by naming SLUH as the beneficiary of a charitable remainder trust (CRT).
“You don’t realize this while you are in it, but I sailed through Creighton University because of my SLUH education,” says Bashwiner, who earned a degree in Spanish and a minor in chemistry.
Bashwiner grew up in Affton with four brothers, three of whom attended SLUH (Steve ’59, Mike ’62 and Jim ’70). He learned the value of discipline and hard work at SLUH where he started in homeroom 1D as a freshman and eventually advanced to 1A as a senior. He chose to study the classics, taking four years of Latin and two years of Greek.
“I knew what a phenomenal opportunity I was given,” he says, “and I didn’t want to waste it.”
Following college, Bashwiner taught Spanish at SLUH. He was recruited by the newly opened De Smet Jesuit, and served with both the teaching faculty and the Advancement staff. He made a career in the nonprofit sector in hospital centers and religious orders. These days, he enjoys playing golf and helping nonprofits with their fundraising efforts.
Reflecting on his planned gift to SLUH, he says, “It comes out of gratitude. SLUH gave us the quality education that allowed us to do anything we wanted to do.”
He and his wife, Donna, have chosen to name several charities, mostly Jesuit institutions, in their estate. They decided to give to SLUH through a CRT because it benefits them as well as the institutions they love.
“It provides annual income, and it’s clean and easy,” says Bashwiner. “The trust has served us very well.”
It will also serve future generations of Jr. Billikens well—with the gift of an excellent Jesuit education.
A charitable remainder trust is an irrevocable trust that gives you a partial income tax deduction when you fund the trust as well as an annual income stream for yourself or someone else. Remaining trust assets are distributed to a charity of your choice after your passing. If you are interested in finding out more, contact Linda Domeyer at (314) 269-2113 or ldomeyer@sluh.org.