Trust from Des Moines woman supports libraries, senior centers and local programs statewide, including Mary J. Barnett Memorial Library in Guthrie Center.
By Gracie Kayko | Special to the Times Vedette
When the time comes to draft a revocable trust, most clients want to ensure their families are cared for, Ross Barnett, managing partner at Abendroth Russell Barnett Law Firm, says. But Norma Jean Warner’s trust looked a little different.
Warner, of Des Moines, left 15% of her significant financial assets to 485 Iowa public libraries and 15% to 128 senior community centers in towns with fewer than 7,000 residents. She instructed her attorney to make the gifts to individual libraries and community centers, rather than to an executive board, giving each establishment the freedom to use the money as it wishes.
The rest of her assets were given to other medical and educational charities, as well as West Des Moines Christian Church.
Warner died May 12, 2023, at age 85, about 12 years after her husband, Waldo Warner, died of Alzheimer’s disease. They had no children. She and her husband lived frugally and saved their money.
Barnett described Warner as a uniquely generous woman and an example of a client with a passion for giving back to the community.
Warner and her attorney reviewed the 2020 census and compiled a comprehensive list of Iowa towns with fewer than 7,000 residents, cross-referencing those with senior centers and public libraries. Barnett is now working to contact the establishments to inform them that “somebody they did not know has left them a gift,” he says.
“It’s just been remarkable — the feedback, the sense of appreciation, and the universal gratitude and surprise,” Barnett says.
When Library Director Jerri Hawkins of the Mary J. Barnett Memorial Library in Guthrie Center learned of Warner’s donation, she was excited.
“It’s not very often that we receive donations or are thought of in such a capacity,” she says. “Especially from someone with so many resources to help smaller libraries throughout the state, it’s very exciting to be recognized and to be thought of.”
Warner’s donation will give the Mary J. Barnett Memorial Library the ability to fund new and existing programs, support the summer reading program and generally strengthen the library’s efforts to energize and educate the community.
“In small communities, libraries are kind of the community cornerstone. It’s a place where kids can go that is safe. It’s a friendly environment. For adults, it’s a social environment,” Hawkins says, reflecting Warner’s focus on the dignity of aging with support and connection, as emphasized in letters sent to beneficiaries of her gift.
The sentiment is as valuable as the dollars, Barnett says. Warner’s firm belief in the power of education will continue to impact small towns across Iowa.
“It was so unexpected,” Hawkins says.
“We were not expecting this donation,” said Pastor Randy Ehrhardt of West Des Moines Christian Church.
Warner had many conversations with Ehrhardt after her husband’s death.
“She was always looking for opportunities to help people, and she appreciated what our church did for helping families and youth,” he says.
West Des Moines Christian Church is exploring programming it can create to support Warner’s passion for helping families and youth.
“It just shows you that she was a very humble woman, very kind — and her husband was that way — and they wanted to make a difference,” Ehrhardt says. “That’s why all of the libraries are getting help. She was just a very gentle, humble woman.”
The sense of appreciation has been remarkable, Barnett says. Since sending out letters notifying each establishment of its upcoming donation, he has received multiple calls from library directors expressing gratitude for being able to plan activities and programs they previously could not fund.
“It highlights the fact that libraries are vital,” Barnett says.
“Norma was known for her quiet strength, sharp intellect and deep compassion for others. Throughout her life, she believed firmly in the power of education and the dignity of aging with support and connection. These values guided her personal life and her remarkable acts of giving,” the letter to establishments read.
Warner’s donations may be modest when divided among 613 beneficiaries, but they emphasize the need for community, connection and education across Iowa.