French Bequests

UNDER the wills of the late Morton B. French '03 and his wife Mary C. French, Dartmouth College will receive bequests expected to exceed $600,000 when fully paid. The bequests, now in the process of settlement, are being credited to the Morton B. French '03 and Mary C. French Fund, which will rank as the seventh largest fund established by bequest in the history of the College.

Mr. French died on March 23, 1960, and his wife on November 20, 1960. Throughout his life Mr. French was one of the most devoted and active of Dartmouth's alumni. He was class agent for 38 years from 1922 until his death; class president from 1928 to 1933; and class bequest chairman from 1952 to 1956. He served on the Alumni Council from 1934 to 1940. Prior to his retirement in 1939, Mr. French was an executive with the American Telephone and Telegraph Company in New York. Mrs. French shared her husband's keen interest in Dartmouth affairs and devotion to the College. The fund jointly created by their wills stands as a lasting memorial to two Dartmouth benefactors of uncommon loyalty and generosity.

The growing importance of bequests in the financial strength of the College is generally obscured by the greater publicity and attention given to the annual Alumni Fund, which provides the essential current-use money needed to balance the College's operating accounts each year. In the past fiscal year, for example, while the Alumni Fund was achieving its historic goal of $1,000,000, the sum of $1,800,000 was received by the College from bequests, receipts from trusts in the hands of others, gifts subject to life income agreements, and gifts clearly attributable to lifetime estate planning. Some 96% of this total went into endowment funds.

The $1,800,000 credited under the College's Bequest and Estate Planning Program included over $600,000 in new bequests from 23 alumni, four Dartmouth widows, and one step-daughter. This total of 28 is the largest number of new bequests ever received by the College in one year, and marks the fourth straight year that a record has been set in the number of new bequests.