Anyone that meets Scott and JoAnn Haner can see right away that their Catholic faith is very important to them.  Scott, a deacon at St. Patrick Parish, says that he learned the importance of faith and the Church at an early age while attending St. Raphael School.  “The center of my life is my faith,” he said.

Scott and JoAnn feel that they have been truly blessed and in gratitude, they believe in giving back to those in need.  When they discussed their estate plan, there was no question that they would remember the Church.    They set up a trust with donor-advised funds in order to care for their family in addition to supporting the Church and a number of other organizations.   The Catholic Church and its ministries hold a special place in their hearts.  “We supported the Church in life, so why not in death?” said Scott and JoAnn.

If you would like additional information on how to set up a trust or how to give to your parish or the Archdiocese, please contact Melody Denson, Director of Major Gifts and Planned Giving, at 502-585-3291, ext. 1117 or email her at mdenson@archlou.org.

Our charitable contributions were important functions of our wonderful marriage. We enjoyed discussing the issues and institutions that were important to each of us – for example Nancy loved all of God’s creatures with a particular fondness for dogs. There are a number of charitable organizations that serve that cause and received her attention. I have been interested in general aviation safety – obviously different organizations. We were partial to our individual universities, but we were in strong agreement for our support of the Church, primarily through our parish and the annual Catholic Services Appeal.

The deaths of some friends and family members amplified our awareness of the need to complete the estate planning. This led to increased discussion of who and what we wanted to support through our estate. We considered various options and concluded we needed to focus and limit the beneficiaries to have the greatest impact.

So, finally, in addition to financial support of our family, we concentrated on our most important charitable objectives – our Catholic faith and education. There are specific gifts to my wife’s beloved alma mater – the University of Notre Dame, the Archdiocese of Louisville, catholic education, and our favorite religious order, the Dominicans.

We hope the blessings we have received in this life will help spread the Good News of Christ through these bequests. The Archdiocese has many ministries which allow a family to focus their legacy support on the issues most important to them. You, too, can continue to spread the faith and support the poor beyond your lifetime with a legacy gift to the Archdiocese of Louisville.  It is never too early to codify how your estate should be distributed, because we do not know when God will call us home.

Lincoln Lewis, Jr. in loving memory of Nancy Naughton.