Built on Legacy

LEGACY

Built on Legacy

By Barbara Ramsey

The Masonic Home of Missouri began over 130 years ago, creating a long and profound legacy of helping those in need. The Masonic Home’s legacy does not exist without the men, women and children who made that charitable assistance possible.

This legacy starts with strong leadership, and it began with the first superintendent and Matron of the Home, Dr. Morris and Ella Leftwich. They opened the doors of the Masonic Home in 1889, and shepherded its early growth until they passed on the torch to those that followed — Charles and Anna Wood, E.B. Redd and Mattie Reed, Clifford and Harriet Baker, and so many more.

The legacy of leadership shines in the Masonic Home of Missouri’s Board of Directors and the Order of the Eastern Star Advisory members. This includes countless Masons and Eastern Star members from the beginning of the Masonic Home to current times. These men and women were not just leaders for the Home — they were leaders in the fraternity and their communities. The Masonic Home featured the important roles that PGM John C. Ralls and PGM John D. Vincil had in the creation of the Home in previous magazines, but there are so many more founding fathers of the Masonic Home.

It is sometimes easier to recognize those who left their mark on history from a hundred years away, and it can be tempting to overlook history that is more recent. However, we must not forget that there was great leadership needed to transition the Masonic Home from bricks and mortar to the Outreach Programs. Again, the list is long, but I would like to recognize two Masons for their leadership roles in recent years, PGM Dan Cole and PGM Vern H. Schneider.

PGM Cole’s leadership was instrumental as President of the Board of Directors when the difficult decision was made to let the Delmar Campus go and try a new direction with Outreach. PGM Schneider would transition from Board Member to the Masonic Home’s legal counsel, helping the Masonic Home transition to Outreach Programs we know today.

When we talk about legacy, we sometimes talk about it in terms of our generous donors. We have featured articles on Henry and Gussie Grenner and PGM Jacob Lampert. Both left profoundly lasting financial impacts. The Grenner’s each left, in trust, money to the Masonic Home, and the combined funds donated is well over $3.6 million, with the Masonic Home still receiving income from Gussie’s trust today.

PGM Lampert’s love of the Masonic Home was so profound that his sister and niece continued his legacy of giving significant gifts to the Masonic Home. In May 2006, the Masonic Home began receiving funds from the trust his niece established, the Jacob Lampert and Rosa Graff Endowment Fund, with the Masonic Home eventually receiving more than $2 million from the estate.

Again, we might be tempted to think that those were different times. However, we see the generosity in our recently featured donors, such as Thomas A. Spencer and Barry and Linda Jenkins. Thomas Spencer passed away earlier this year, and he is greatly missed by the Masonic Home. His willingness to challenge us all to do more is as much a part of his legacy as the donations he gave. These new donors, willing to give the Masonic Home a place in their estate planning, join the Masonic Home’s important legacy of providing for those now and in the future.

Giving to the Masonic Home has always included the generous spirit of the lodges, chapters, and other Masonic organizations. The Masonic Home Reports in the Grand Lodge of Missouri proceedings and Missouri Order of the Eastern Star proceedings are full of donations from lodges and chapters. Sometimes these donations were monetary, and sometimes the donations were needed items, such as food, clothing, and blankets. When the new hospital on Delmar opened in 1912, the Order of the Eastern Star completely furnished the interior.

While the lodges and chapters of today are not furnishing buildings, they are still providing for the needs of the Masonic Home’s clients. In 2014, President Bev Steelman of the Missouri ShowMe State Grand Representatives Club wanted to do something for the Outreach clients. The idea for the care packages was born. In the years that followed, the Order of the Eastern Star Grand Officers would take this idea and promote the program statewide. This does not even begin to touch upon the donations used to help fund Creating-A-Partnership and Partnering To Honor requests. Just this last fiscal year, there were 14,885 lives impacted statewide because of the generosity of Missouri’s Lodges and Chapters working the Masonic Home’s Partnership Programs.

Finally, there are countless examples of volunteerism. The Masonic Home’s records are full of the hours and hours of volunteerism, both in St. Louis and Kansas City. Today, our Board Members, past and current, along with PGM Nancy Lane and PGM Karlene Baylous, are volunteering throughout the state, giving presentations on the Masonic Home and performing the Veteran’s Ceremony as our Masonic Home Ambassadors. The Masonic Home Representatives in lodges make referrals, collaborate with us to work our programs, and help keep their lodges connected. There are the young men of DeMolay that helped fly flags at the Masonic Complex for the Veteran’s Program. Most recently, when the Masonic Home recognized that so many of our Outreach clients were lonely during this pandemic, the Order of the Eastern Star immediately asked how they could help.

The Masonic Home has always been a place for people to come together to make a difference in the lives of others. It provides the connection and means by which we can help. There is no singular person or legacy that has made the Masonic Home great - because it is the combined effort of countless men, women, and children using their time, talents and treasure over the years.

What will your legacy with the Masonic Home be?