Tom and Sara McCart Endowed Scholarship

To quote Samuel Butler (who himself was quoting St. Paul), “For as you sow, ye are like to reap.” Whether that idea was in Bob Peper’s mind when he presented a seminar on estate planning is not clear, but that’s exactly what happened with Tom and Sara McCart.

The McCarts were fortunate to attend a seminar Mr. Peper presented to a group of seniors at Christ Lutheran Church in Downey, California, early in 1983. Following the presentation, Tom McCart, a member of the church council, cornered Mr. Peper for several minutes to ask him numerous questions.

Tom and his wife Sara were longtime, faithful members of Christ Lutheran Church. Their pastor, the Reverend John Wetzel, described them as the type of members every pastor prays for—faithful in attendance, in stewardship and in involvement. Also in the congregation were several strong supporters of CLU.

Tom and Sara had no children but took the management of their resources seriously. After listening to the estate planning seminar, the McCarts had a heart-to-heart discussion about how they wanted to handle their estate. But they didn’t get around to meeting with an attorney before Tom died just a few months after the seminar. Because of their discussions, Sara knew exactly what Tom would have wanted her to do. And so, in the McCart estate plan dated June 28, 1983, Christ Lutheran Church and California Lutheran College were to receive equal shares of the McCarts’ estate.

Following Sara’s death, CLU received a handsome bequest, which established the Tom and Sara McCart Endowed Scholarship “to assist students who could not otherwise attend college.” That was a clear directive to the University as to how the McCarts wanted their bequest to be used and one that was easily fulfilled.

While future recipients of the scholarship will never have the opportunity to express their appreciation personally to the McCarts, it is important to remember the farseeing couple who helped to make these students’ college dreams a reality.