Mary Alice Loomis - A Planned Giving Story

(April 28, 2011)—

Mary Alice Loomis’s ties to the American Lung Association extend back to 1968 as she began a 35 year career as an elementary school teacher.  In the cramped teacher’s lounge of her school, she discovered she was allergic to the secondhand smoke that filled the room back then and immediately wanted to do something about it. 

“I could smell smoke on my students,” explains Mary Alice.  “And I could see the impact it had on me and these children, especially those who suffered from asthma.”

Mary Alice’s personal struggle and desire to help her students led her to the Lung Association where she became an early advocate and supporter of our local efforts to first restrict smoking in restaurants and eventually to restrict it in all buildings.  She contacted her local legislators over the years and urged them to pass smoking ban legislation which finally came to fruition in her home state of Wisconsin in July of 2010.

Mary Alice is also a supporter of our Teens Against Tobacco Use (TATU) program and, after observing a training session, she decided to include the American Lung Association in her estate plan. 

Just as she has made a lasting impact on the children she taught, Mary Alice strongly feels that she needs to leave her mark on local youth after her death.  She feels her bequest and support of the Lung Association will support her goal – “helping to keep smoke out of children’s lungs today and in the future” through a portion of the proceeds from the sale of her condominium going to the Lung Association and the TATU program.

We’re thankful for Mary Alice’s support over the years and look forward to accomplishing even more together into the future.

You can help make a difference in the lives of millions of people across the Upper Midwest and ensure that future generations can breathe easier through a legacy gift.  If you would like to learn more about  planned gifts like bequests, charitable gift annuities, retirement plans or others,  please contact Marina Tanzer, Director of Planned Giving, at 1-800-LUNG-USA or marina.tanzer@lungum.org.