Bob Grieve ’50
By the time Robert Grieve came to Norwich at age 22, he had already had a lifetime of experiences. A World War II veteran, he entered Norwich in the fall of 1946 on the GI bill. Familiar with Norwich from having grown up in Massachusetts, Bob was drawn to the school’s strong academics and enrolled in the Mechanical Engineering program.
Fully half of Bob’s classmates were veterans, and their years at Norwich were unique. When they arrived on campus they were first admitted as civilians, but in their sophomore year they joined the Corps, only to be commissioned as officers at the end of that year, effectively ending their cadet status.
Years later, after enjoying a long and successful career as a mechanical engineer, Bob is appreciative of Norwich not only for the strong education it provided him, but also for the flexibility it afforded him as a returning veteran.
Bob and his wife Shirley remember Norwich for “helping us live a good life and you like to return something.” That desire to give back to Norwich inspired them to establish two charitable gift annuities, gifts that provide them with a fixed annual income while at the same time ensuring that Norwich will be strong for generations to come. With much of their retirement income coming from Bob’s pension—which would be cut in half should something happen to Bob—the fixed income stream provided security important to maintaining their quality of life.
It’s kind of an ideal situation with a gift annuity, because you can set up a situation where you know what an income is going to be and at the same time know that you are helping a place that you think a lot of.
~ Bob Grieve ’50
After selling their home and moving to a retirement community, Bob and Shirley established a second gift annuity with Norwich to turn their liquid asset into an additional fixed income stream. “It’s kind of an ideal situation with a gift annuity, because you can set up a situation where you know what an income is going to be and at the same time know that you are helping a place that you think a lot of.”
Bob and Shirley’s second gift annuity qualified for a matching gift from Trustee Pier Mapes ’59 and his wife Pat through the Mapes Matching Opportunity, which matches all deferred gifts of $10,000 or more from members of the Old Guard. This was really a win-win situation, resulting in increased income for the Grieves and a “double gift” to Norwich.
For information on establishing a gift annuity with Norwich or other deferred gifts and the Mapes Match, please contact Priscilla Gilbert at 802.485.2301 or pgilbert@norwich.edu.
