Get Your Trust Documents in Order

That's the advice given to Eunice Vander Zyl Van Tuyl '68 and her husband, Jim Van Tuyl '10H, by their financial planner last fall.

"We finally agreed so he'd leave us alone," Jim jokingly says.

The couple contacted the Central College advancement office and began the straightforward process, with the help of their financial advisor and attorney.

Eunice and Jim share a love for Central. Eunice served on Central's National Advisory Council from 2007 to 2018, attended reunion gatherings and Homecoming events, Scholarship Dinners and Heritage Day luncheons over the years. Jim accompanied her and hung out on campus while Eunice attended meetings. They loved coming to Pella for football games. Because of his frequent presence on campus, along with involvement, support of programs and dedication to the college's wellbeing, Jim earned an honorary degree in 2010.

Eunice and Jim now live in Bella Vista, Arkansas. They taught in the Des Moines School District most of their careers. Eunice was a French teacher at Lincoln High School. Jim taught at Wilson Junior High until it closed and then he taught history, anthropology and economics at East High School.

"I was a French major when the first study abroad program to France launched. I would have gone but I wouldn't have been able to work to pay for the rest of my tuition and expenses," Eunice explains. "Later, I did study abroad in France for my master's degree. I've also taken 13 groups of high school students to France in the summers. I've taken two groups of students to Mexico, to Des Moines' sister city, because I taught Spanish for a little while. Experiencing other cultures is a love of both of ours."

That love of travel inspired the Van Tuyls to create an endowed scholarship at Central nearly 20 years ago. The scholarship supports students who want to study internationally or major in a foreign language. The opportunity for study abroad was not an option for Eunice, who knows the struggles of balancing working and college life. The couple wants to help students experience the world.

"I appreciated Central giving me a scholarship when I was there. It, along with working four separate jobs, paid for half of my tuition," Eunice says. "Three of my jobs were with Central. I worked in the circulation library and did some tutoring. My main job was with a professor in the education department. He required two, 20-page typed term papers from each of his students each semester. I was to read the papers for punctuation, spelling, capitalization and syntax. He then read for content, but made the students redo their papers if they had more than three mechanical errors," Eunice chuckles.

"I also worked downtown in the Central Park Cafe, twice a day. I would work the lunch hour and then go back in the evenings. I worked a 12-hour shift on Saturdays. I didn't have much time to participate in activities or go to games," Eunice says.

"As both Jim and I were educators, we really want to make it possible for everybody to come to Central. First, we created an endowed scholarship and in later years funded it with our required minimum distribution from our investments. We wanted to help students travel and experience diverse cultures and perspectives," Eunice says.

The endowed scholarship supports students and allows them to enjoy the benefits of a Central education.

"Since then, our financial advisor and attorney helped us finalize our revocable trust. We have designated Central as the beneficiary," Jim says. "We had set up our wills before we moved to Arkansas. Last fall, we decided to complete our trust documents designating Central."

"I'm so proud of the education that I got at Central. We want to help more students have the same experience," Eunice says.

You can create your own legacy at Central College and support generations of students with a gift in your estate plan. Contact Deb Calderwood, Director of Development, at 641-628-5138 or calderwoodd@central.edu to get started.