Donor Stories

The Hymans made their first gift to Harvard Law School over a half-century ago, and the first of several planned gifts more than a decade ago. The details of that first planned gift are no longer in the front of Jerry’s mind. “It was an annuity,” he says, brow furrowed, “which generated a small annual payment.” But he has no doubt about the primary intent of the gift: “To benefit the Law School, of course.”

“I just felt that I wanted to do something to symbolize his strong feelings for the Law School,” Waltrud explains. “The School meant a great deal to him, and over the years has come to mean a great deal to me, as well. I derive a great deal of satisfaction from remembering my husband in this way, and I know he would feel exactly the same way, too.”

David and Carolyn Clark — both members of the Class of ’68 — can’t remember exactly when they made their first planned gift to Harvard Law School. “Probably in the first will that I wrote,” Carolyn muses, “there was a bequest to the Law School.”

Neil Prior began thinking about his ultimate gift to Harvard Law School in the late 1990’s. He was motivated by the leadership at Harvard Law School — former Deans Elena Kagan and Robert Clark.