Eugene and Mable Wemlinger Endowment managed by
the Healthcare Foundation of Southern New Mexico

Shrewd investing plus modest living equal sizable contribution

By Annette Paajanen

Hospitals can seem like forbidding, even scary, places to some people. However, for many people they become places of refuge, sources of solace and unexpected friendships.

Eugene and Mable Wemlinger were a couple who found friendship and much more at Memorial Medical Center. They also found a cause they supported whole-heartedly and which greatly enriched their lives in their later years.

The Wemlingers retired in Las Cruces because of the climate, building a home in the Mesilla area. They knew no one in the area and Gene, a former archeologist, and Mable, a housewife, had no living family members to turn to for support as they grew older. Fortunately, though, they made good friends here in Las Cruces, including a trustee of the Memorial Medical Center Foundation (now the Healthcare Foundation of Southern New Mexico) whose husband also happened to be an archeologist.

The Wemlingers were a frugal couple, even sharing a single cup of coffee each morning. The home they built was modest even though, because of his skill at investing, they could have afforded much more. Gene was not only a shrewd investor, he also enjoyed the investment process and took an interest in how the Healthcare Foundation invested its funds. This interest, of course, fostered a close working relationship with the Foundation staff, and the couple often dropped into the Foundation office for visits.

Although Gene was a rather serious-minded person, Mable possessed a mischievous sense of humor. She loved bantering with the Foundation staff, and he enjoyed listening to the repartee. The Foundation staff of course developed a close relationship with the couple. The staff celebrated birthdays with the couple and attended special events with them. As the couple aged and developed health issues, they used Memorial Medical Center as their emergency room. Before heading to the hospital, they would call the Foundation staff, who then would alert the medical center about the couple's impending arrival.

Their initial gift of appreciated stock set the tone for the couple's long-term support of the Foundation. The stock, purchased originally by the Wemlingers for $2,200, netted a total of $45,000 for the Foundation when it was sold. This money was used to start an endowment in the couple's name. The couple continued to give appreciated stock to the Foundation over the years, and the money earned from sales of the stock was added to the endowment.

While continuing to give appreciated stock to the Foundation, the Wemlingers also eventually set up a charitable gift annuity. This is a contract between individuals and a non-profit whereby monies are transferred to the Foundation and, over the years while alive, the Wemlingers received an income based on their ages. They also received a partial charitable deduction for the gift. The balance of the annuity went to the Foundation.

When Mable passed away, Gene moved into an assisted living facility and gave their house to the Foundation. Proceeds from the sale of the house were then added to the Wemlinger's endowment.

The policy of the Foundation is to have funds carefully and professionally managed to assure that endowments exist permanently. The principal is never touched. Only interest earned is used, with 3 percent of that distributed annually by the Board according to the wishes of the donors, and 1 percent going to the Foundation to cover administrative costs. This means that, today, the Eugene and Mable Wemlinger Endowment has grown to a principal amount that is well over half a million dollars. The endowment, the monies of which are distributed at the discretion of the Foundation board per the Wemlinger's directive, will continue to provide funds every year that benefit deserving people in the Las Cruces community well into the future.

Gene ultimately lived to the ripe old age of 98. However, in a gesture that is symbolic of the close personal relationship he had fostered with the Foundation, he had specified in his will that he wanted the Foundation to celebrate his 100th birthday, because he had always wanted to live to be 100. Therefore, at a board meeting after his birthday, the Foundation celebrated Gene's 100th birthday with a little party and a cake. It's a gesture that he and his wife would have appreciated, and is indicative of how seriously the Foundation takes requests from donors.