In the spring of 2022, Wynn Downing Gandera called Graland to share news that her parents had left a gift for Graland in their estate. Decades before, Mancourt "Corky" Downing '37 and Sybil Smith '43 Downing had established an educational trust designated for college tuition for their grandchildren. When they designed the trust, they also included the stipulation that when the youngest grandchild turned 26 years of age, the trust was to be dissolved, and the remaining funds to be dispersed to educational institutions that meant the most to Corky and Sybil during their lives.
Graland Country Day School meant a great deal to both Corky and Sybil. Wynn shared “They were very strong on elementary education because they saw it as the foundation of everything.” She shared that her father stated that “elementary education is ‘the key’ and deserves great funding.” Their gift was designated for student scholarship.
Corky Downing enlisted in the U.S. Navy upon turning 18 in 1943 while attending East Denver High School Upon his return to Colorado at the end of the war, he enrolled in Colorado College. Now back home, Corky consulted his father’s friends for advice on what to do next. Education was the prevailing answer and it played a significant role in the course of the his and Sybil’s lives.
Corky and Sybil moved to Chicago, where Corky eventually received his Ph.D in Biochemistry from the University of Chicago. They later moved back to Colorado and settled in Boulder with two daughters in 1955 where Sybil became involved with and eventually became president of the Boulder League of Women Voters. While raising four children, she became active in local school affairs and was elected to the Boulder Valley RE-2 School Board in 1967 and served as its president until 1974. During her tenure on the school board, she took classes at University of Colorado’s mini college and completed her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado in geography, Phi Beta Kappa, and Magna Cum Laude in 1976. In 1984, Sybil was elected as candidate at-large to the State Board of Education where she presided as chair until 1995. Meanwhile, Corky served as a professor of Biochemistry at the University of Colorado for 25 years.
These esteemed educational leaders never forgot the impact of Graland on the trajectory of their later lives. And so, in turn, they left a gift to Graland for student scholarship, so that current and future students may have access to the school and its opportunities as well. Corky and Sybil’s daughter, Wynn, shared: “Their elementary foundation allowed my parents to excel later in life with further schooling, including my father’s Ph.D.” Graland is so grateful for the family’s gift and for the doors that their scholarship funding may open for other young Graland scholars.
Graland is sincerely grateful to Corky Downing ‘37 and Sybil Smith ‘43 Downing, and all the Montem Society members who have included Graland in their estate plans. For more information about how you can create a legacy at Graland through planned giving, contact Jessica Goski at 303-336-3705 or jgoski@graland.org.
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.