Endowment to honor parents backs Holy Cross in Hutchinson
By Mike Wescott
“We wanted to create an endowment in our parents’ names to honor their faith and example they set for us. This endowment ensures that their love for the Church continues to support the parish for generations to come. We believe that by supporting Holy Cross Catholic Church through long-term funding, our parents’ devotion will keep strengthening the Church well into the future.”
This pretty much summed up my meeting with Mark Smith, Linda Smith Dahm, Ron Smith, and Margie Smith Doeden when I met with them and their father, Dale, several times during the past year. I heard stories upon stories of how, for even generations before Dale and his wife Mary married and started a family, the Catholic faith was embedded into the family tree. Dale and Mary were simply passing down what they learned from their parents and grandparents – a love for the Church, and support of lifelong Catholic education and formation.
Grief touched the family on March 29, 2024, when Mary died. It was Good Friday and the family knew Mary had long hoped to die on the same day that Christ died for our sins – yet another testament to her strong faith. Mary and Dale were married just shy of 64 years and during most of that time, they raised their family at Holy Cross Parish in Hutchinson. The parish was everything to them and they gave sacrificially to it for years through their stewardship of time, treasure, and talent. They were involved in, and even started, several ministries.
One day, Mark, Linda and Margie started talking about their parents’ love of the faith and ways to establish an endowment that would benefit Holy Cross. Mark reached out to me to discuss options and the perpetual endowment was created. They put no restrictions on the use of the funds except that it would be for parish use. They hope an endowment will provide funding for an annual flow of funds to support the parish’s ministry and general operations.
Over time, funds from the family starting coming in to support what is now called the Dale and Mary Smith Endowment for the benefit of Holy Cross Parish. The fund balance sits at slightly more than $250,000 in the waning days of 2025.
“I have only been in the parish since July 2023, so my time with Mary before she died was limited. But I do know Dale and can attest to his love for the parish and, most especially, his Catholic faith,” said Holy Cross Pastor Fr. Jerome Spexarth. “The fund that the children have started to honor their parents is a true sign of their dedication to the parish and a desire to do anything in their power to ensure that the parish and school continue to be strong beacons of the truth.”
At my recent meeting with the family, they gave me permission to share the details of their story. Mark encouraged other families to consider something similar for their loved ones, especially those who have been instrumental to them in their faith development.
Mike Wescott is director of development and planned giving for the Catholic Diocese of Wichita.
