Mary Runchey with grandson.

Mary Runchey and her husband, Bob, first learned of Glenmary Home Missioners together. In the 1970s the young married couple heard a Glenmarian talk about the unchurched and the areas in the United States, especially in the south and Appalachia, that didn’t have a Catholic church.

“It kind of touched us,” Mary says, “so we started giving through the Boost-a-Month Club,” which is a way for donors to make regular monthly contributions to Glenmary.

Their commitment to Glenmary was further strengthened several years later when Mary and Bob were traveling through the Appalachian Mountains. Mary says she was “struck by the isolation of a lot of these small communities.” And although they supported other charities as well, “(Glenmary) has always been one that has been close to my heart,” Mary says.

Bob was very handy and often helped other people. He helped build the rectory at their church in Michigan. “We thought that perhaps someday we might be able to volunteer and help (at a Glenmary mission) during the summer on a project,” Mary says.

Sadly that dream never came true as Bob was killed in a traffic accident in 1980. After 16 years of marriage, Mary was left to raise their 3- and 8-year-old children alone. Following Bob’s death, Mary and their two young children received a large settlement.

As a result, Mary was thrust into a world of financial planning, investments and trusts. Initially, not knowing what the future may hold, Mary’s main focus was to protect the settlement funds for her children in case anything happened to her.

As the children got older, with a recommendation from a trusted financial advisor, Mary took a sum of the money and invested it in a charitable remainder trust and named Glenmary as one of the designated beneficiaries.

The charitable remainder trust enables Mary to ensure a gift will be made to Glenmary and other designated charities after her death, while she continues receiving the earnings from her assets, without management worries, for the rest of her life.

Although the years following Bob’s death were difficult, Mary trusted in God and that “God would put the right people in my life to give me good advice and good counsel,” she says. “You kind of step out in faith and hope that you’re making the right decision. And so far God has blessed me.”

Mary shares her blessings and spends her time serving several different charitable organizations.

She is a member of the county crisis team which works with the students and teachers at local schools who have been traumatized by a death, fire or other tragedy.

Mary helped organize a food pantry outreach program in her parish which eventually grew into the formation of a St. Vincent de Paul chapter.

Mary also writes grants that enable her parish to give out $20,000 a year in assistance to people. “I was able to get that off the ground,” Mary says.

“Even though I lost my husband early and my children grew up without a father,” Mary says, “I always felt very blessed that we had so much love in our family and that I had my husband Bob in my life for that time.”

Mary sees making Glenmary one of the beneficiaries of her charitable remainder trust as one way to honor her husband.

She chose Glenmary because Glenmary “works with the people, they build homes and work to improve the lives of the people in the areas in which they work,” she says.

“And I knew that was something my husband would have honored.”

This article originally appeared in the Summer 2008 Planning Ahead Newsletter

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