Janet Hawkins
Iowa City, Iowa
For Janet Hawkins, using her financial resources while she was living to guarantee income for the rest of her life—and then to help create educational opportunities for young people—was just the way things ought to be.
That was more than just a saying—it was a prophecy of sorts, left behind by Janet's father, that has come true.
Her father, Samuel Johnston, graduated from the UI College of Dentistry in 1918 and practiced in Oskaloosa, Iowa. In 1925, when Janet was just four years old, he died during surgery at the UI.
Janet, who died in 2006, never really knew her dad, but she held on to some things from his dental office, including a Billiken—a clay figurine popular in the early 20th century that represented "the god of things as they ought to be."
One day, Janet asked Bill Windauer, the director of development for the UI College of Dentistry, if he might want the Billiken and other memorabilia from her dad's office. They struck up a friendship, and Janet went on to honor her father's memory in an especially significant way—by creating the Dr. Samuel Johnston Dental Scholarship and the Dr. Samuel Johnston Student Fellowship.
Janet created this Iowa legacy through The University of Iowa Foundation using a charitable gift annuity (CGA). Through this simple contract with the UI Foundation, Janet enjoyed guaranteed payments for the rest of her life, as well as tax advantages when she made the gift.
"It gives me a wonderful peace of mind," Janet said then, "to remember my father this way and to be sure that my estate will be used in a way I believe in."
When Janet died, the Johnston Scholarship went into effect. During the 2008-2009 school year, UI dental student Jamie Gross (Class of 2009) received the scholarship, and expressed her thanks for Janet's generosity.
"I'm very grateful," Jamie said. "It's hard to make ends meet when you're in dental school, and you can't have a job because you're so busy."
Jamie, who never met Janet, will go on to practice dentistry in a small town near her home town of Sheldon, Iowa—bringing the memory of another small-town Iowa dentist, Samuel Johnston, full circle.
No one will ever know for sure whether it's because of her father's Billiken that things worked out so well for Janet in passing on her legacy to Jamie, but one thing is for sure —for Janet, Jamie, and the many other students who will benefit from Janet's generosity, this is clearly as things ought to be.
