Rose Loe-Dix Scholarship Fund honors woman’s love of education; open to Marble Falls High School students
Attorney Robert Klaeger presents Highland Lakes Legacy Fund Executive Director Kathy Fletcher with a check to officially open the Rose Loe-Dix Scholarship Fund. The fund, set up through the Peggy Rose Washington estate at her bequest, will provide scholarships for students from Marble Falls High School and two Oklahoma high schools. Pictured are Donna Klaeger (left), a Highland Lakes Legacy Fund advisory board member; Richard Washington, the son of Richard Dix Washington; Robert Klaeger, Peggy Rose Washington’s attorney and trustee; and Highland Lakes Legacy Fund advisory board members John Racz, Midge Dockery, and Michael Thames. Courtesy photo
FROM STAFF REPORTS
MARBLE FALLS — Education always mattered to Peggy Rose Washington. Now, almost a year after her passing, Washington will continue to help students reach their academic goals through the endowed Rose Loe-Dix Scholarship Fund.
“Mrs. Washington left very clear criteria in her will to direct scholarships to meet her goals,” said Donna Klaeger. She, her husband, attorney Robert Klaeger, and Midge Dockery assisted Washington in establishing the scholarship through the Highland Lakes Legacy Fund. “She loved education and was excited at the ability to share her wealth to help future generations meet their educational goals.”
The Highland Lakes Legacy Fund, a family of funds through the Austin Community Foundation, provides individuals, businesses, and organizations a way to set up funds to benefit students, nonprofit organizations, religious organizations, and similar entities.
The Rose-Loe Dix Scholarship Fund, which officially opened in early July after Washington’s estate was settled, took root in 2007. At the time, Dockery was working with the Highland Lakes Legacy Fund when Washington contacted her.
“I vividly remember receiving the initial phone call from Peggy Washington almost 11 years ago,” Dockery said. “She was looking for help with her estate planning and establishing an endowment fund for her estate.”
Washington and her husband, Richard Dix Washington, wanted to set up a charitable fund through their estate planning. He passed away June 25, 2012; she on July 27, 2017.
While the couple could have chosen a number of issues or organizations to support through their estate, education was a top priority for them, especially Peggy.
“When working with Mrs. Washington to set up her will, she was very intent in leaving money to enable students to further their education in both Oklahoma and Texas,” Robert Klaeger said. “I introduced her to the Legacy Fund, which provided her information which led her to leave endowed scholarship funds which will help students reach their educational goals forever.”
Scholarships are $1,500 for each student per semester and up to eight semesters. Students must maintain at least a 3.0 grade-point average on a 4.0 scale and be full-time students. Peggy Washington outlined other specific criteria for the recipients.
Applicants must:
• be eligible to attend college and/or trade school;
• be in the top 10 percent of their graduating class;
• major in business, science, computers, Christian religious studies, literature, or medical fields or be pre-med;
• and take six hours in money management classes.
The scholarships are open to students from Marble Falls Independent School District and two Oklahoma schools: Tishomingo High School and Ada High School.
Students who meet the above criteria can begin applying for the scholarship beginning Feb. 1, 2019, which is when the scholarship application season opens. Kathy Fletcher, Highland Lakes Legacy Fund executive director, pointed out that as students apply for this scholarship, they might discover others the Legacy Fund and the Austin Community Foundation administer.
“Through her bequest, (Peggy Washington) will leave a legacy in the form of educational scholarships for graduates attending a college or trade school,” Dockery added. “The Rose Loe-Dix Scholarship Fund will forever touch the lives of many and live into perpetuity.”
Estate planning is one way to set up an endowed fund, which can make an impact for years to come. The Highland Lakes Legacy Fund can assist individuals, businesses, and organizations with setting up a fund to support charitable giving in a number of ways. It might not require as much money as one thinks.
Contact Kathy Fletcher at kfletcher@austincf.org or (830) 613-9193 to learn more about the Highland Lakes Legacy Fund and how to establish a fund for charitable giving.