In Friday’s (4/19) Rockford Register Star (Illinois), Georgette Braun reports, “The Rockford Symphony Orchestra has received a $720,000 bequest from the estate of James V. Lathers, a Rockford resident through his high school years. It is the largest single endowment amount the RSO has received. The symphony is hoping some of Lathers’ friends who are still in Rockford will come forward to share stories about him, Julie McDonough, RSO executive director, said in a news release Friday. He graduated from West High School in 1960 and was in band. After college, he moved to California where he lived until his death last year. He was an engineer at Hughes Aircraft and a lifelong music lover. … ‘When we first received notification of his incredible gift to the RSO, we were surprised and overwhelmed with gratitude, but also very disappointed that we never had the opportunity to meet him,’ she said. Most of the money will become part of the RSO’s endowment fund and will be invested to provide ongoing revenue. The Lathers gift will bring the balance of the Rockford Symphony Orchestra Foundation fund to about $1.9 million. In 2012, the endowment fund generated more than $37,000 in income for the RSO.”
Posted April 22, 2013
