Winthrop Dolan

It could be said that Dr. Winthrop "Win" Dolan had a servant's heart. He served Linfield College, the church and the community with good humor and joy. His life was filled with examples of service, including mentoring young people, singing in the church choir, acting in plays and offering advice to college graduates. His lifetime of service touched thousands of people in countless ways.

Linfield was a recipient of Win's service for more than 60 years. His death on March 14, 2009, at 100 years young, has left a void at the college, in the community and with his family. In addition to his many roles at the college (faculty, dean of faculty, interim president and member of the Board of Trustees), Win also served as the first secretary for the Founders' Society, established to recognize individuals who include Linfield in their estate and philanthropic planning.

Win was a proud member of the Founders' Society, having established nine charitable gift annuities during his retirement years. These gift annuities were a part of Win's philanthropic planning, as well as a complement to his financial planning during retirement. He often said how pleased and amazed he was that those gift annuities enabled him to meet his self-imposed goal of becoming a major donor to Linfield, given his modest financial means.

Through his charitable gift annuities, Win secured a dependable stream of payments that lasted until his death. When signing up for his latest gift annuity, Win told Craig Haisch ‘95, director of planned giving, that he felt good knowing that he was getting a better return than he could through any commercial savings vehicle. He was also pleased to help ensure the continued success of the college in fulfilling its mission of Connecting Learning, Life and Community.

Thanks, Win, for your dedicated service to Linfield and the tremendous spirit of generosity you shared.

For more information about how a charitable gift annuity might help you with your own charitable and financial planning, contact Craig L. Haisch '95 at 503-883-2675 or chaisch@linfield.edu.