Clarke Receives $2.9 Million from Estates of Two Alumnae

As Clarke College welcomes alumni back to campus for this year’s Homecoming weekend, gifts from two Clarke alumnae are helping ensure that current and future Clarke students have the same benefits they did.

Clarke College is pleased to announce that through the estate of the late Patti Ann Joyce, a 1962 Clarke graduate, the College received $1.8 million. The College also received an estate gift of $1.1 million from Mary Agnes Ronan, a 1921 Clarke graduate. Both gifts will support Clarke’s endowment and annual operating budget.

“Both of these remarkable women had a great affection for Clarke College and often commented on how their Clarke education prepared them for the business world,” said Clarke President Catherine Dunn, BVM, Ph.D. “Each wanted to ensure lasting opportunities for current and future Clarke students – a goal that their gifts will most certainly help accomplish.”

Joyce, who graduated from Clarke with a bachelor of arts degree in sociology, was the former owner and president of Joyce Trucking and Warehousing Company in Chicago Heights, Ill. She passed away at the age of 62.

Ronan was one of the first female owners of a business in the Decorah area. She purchased a millinery shop in 1925 and grew it into one of the premier children’s clothing stores in the region. She passed away in 2002.

A majority of the gifts will be placed in the College’s endowment, which is a permanently restricted investment of the College designed to ensure continued financial stability. Another portion will be placed in the College’s operating budget, which this year includes more than $6.4 million in institutional financial aid for students.

“Gifts to the endowment leave a lasting legacy at Clarke – continuing to benefit the College and our students into perpetuity,” said Dunn. “We are grateful for their lifelong dedication to Clarke.”