Vaselakos Gift Benefits Western

Vaselakos Hall

Ten years after his death in 1999, the MWSU Foundation received a gift from the charitable remainder trust of John Vaselakos valued at approximately $500,000. John established the trust with the stipulation that the trust terminate 10 years after his death and that the Foundation receive 50 percent of the fund value. The gift is undesignated.

John, who was born in 1926, was an avid supporter of Western. He was a member of the Foundation Board of Directors and one of the founders and charter members of the athletics department Gold Coat Club. He was a contributor to Leah Spratt Hall and the capital campaign in 1995. John also served on the campaign for the lighting project of Spratt Memorial Stadium and the committee to finance the clock tower. One of Western’s residence halls was named in his and his wife Betty’s honor when it was completed in 1995.

John and Betty, who died in 1994, were honorary members of the Heartland Health Foundation and were active in the American Cancer Society, St. Joseph Safety Town, the St. Joseph Area Chamber of Commerce, Ronald McDonald House, Boy Scouts of America, St. Joseph Symphony and Camp Quality.

He and his brother Pete began the McDonald’s restaurant franchise in St. Joseph, Mo., in 1963 and eventually owned three restaurants in the city. John retired in 1990. “We are grateful for the generosity of John Vaselakos,” said Jerry Pickman ’85, director of development. “Supporters like him are very important to Western.”

Jerry noted that a charitable remainder trust like the one John established is a good giving tool for people in certain circumstances. When establishing a charitable remainder trust, the donor sets aside a certain amount of money in the trust that will pay the donor or designated beneficiary an annual income for the rest of his or her life or for a set amount of years.

“There are a lot of advantages to it,” he said, explaining that the donor gets a tax deduction, it takes the money out of his or her taxable estate and it can be funded with stocks.

“John and Betty Vaselakos are two wonderful examples of the tremendous community support that Western has enjoyed since its earliest days as a junior college.”