I’ve been thinking long and hard about an appropriate post in honor of Thanksgiving. Then last week I joined my wife for an alumni reception for her college, Loyola Marymount University in LA. It’s called the “Princeton of the Pacific” and one of their biggest donors has been William Hannon, as evidenced by several buildings named after him on the campus. But I got to read a story in a publication about the new William H. Hannon Library.
After reading the story, I knew I would use it as my Thanksgiving post.
Here it is:
The Hannon Legacy
The Hannon family connection with Loyola Marymount University began in the 1930s. Eugenie B. Hannon appealed to then-Loyola University PResident Hugh C. Duce, S.J., to allow her son William, to enroll in the university, with a promise to pay back the tuition. Although the country was in the midst of the Great Depression and the struggling university needed tuition dollars, Mrs. Hannon’s request was granted. It turned out to be one of the most rewarding acts of charity by the university. William H. Hannon repaid his original $800 tuition loan with a lifetime of gifts, and the William H. Hannon Foundation and the Bill Hannon Foundation continue to provide many millions of dollars to Loyola Marymount University.
In 1937, after graduating from Loyola, William H. Hannon embarked on an illustrious real estate career, interrupted only by distinguished service with Army intelligence during World Ward II. He became a vice president and director of Fritz B. Burns & Associates and also founded his own firm, the Hannon Realty Corporation. He played an important role in the development of many Southern California communities.
Hannon never lost his sense of obligation to those who had helped him along the way. Throughout his lifetime, he supported numerous projects at LMU, and the Hannon name became a familiar one on campus, gracing buildings, athletic fields and myriad scholarships. As chairman of the Fritz B. Burns Foundation for 11 years, Hannon continued Fritz Burns’ legacy with major gifts for building and additional scholarships. Named 1978 Distinguished Alumnus, Hannon also served LMU as a regent, received an honorary degree, and remained active as an honorary trustee until his death in 1999.
Talk about a lifetime of thanks! And thank goodness we as a society continue to invest in higher education like LMU’s president did in the Great Depression.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Mahalo!
***
P.S. – You can follow me on Twitter (@exbor) to get more regular updates. Be warned, they are much more “regular” than my posts here. 
P.P.S – Did you know capsun.org has it’s own Twitter account (@capsundotorg) that Tweets whenever I blog here or on my photo blog?
Please note: The views expressed here are mine and mine alone. While I am employed by and affiliated with organizations and individuals, permission has neither been asked nor granted to write on the topics discussed here.
[...] To Get Inspired Favorites This Week:My favorite article in a long time, over at Capsun.org – A Lifetime of Thanks. If you read nothing else on this list, read that article.A System for Both Long-term Goals and [...]