Our charitable contributions were important functions of our wonderful marriage. We enjoyed discussing the issues and institutions that were important to each of us – for example Nancy loved all of God’s creatures with a particular fondness for dogs. There are a number of charitable organizations that serve that cause and received her attention. I have been interested in general aviation safety – obviously different organizations. We were partial to our individual universities, but we were in strong agreement for our support of the Church, primarily through our parish and the annual Catholic Services Appeal.

The deaths of some friends and family members amplified our awareness of the need to complete the estate planning. This led to increased discussion of who and what we wanted to support through our estate. We considered various options and concluded we needed to focus and limit the beneficiaries to have the greatest impact.

So, finally, in addition to financial support of our family, we concentrated on our most important charitable objectives – our Catholic faith and education. There are specific gifts to my wife’s beloved alma mater – the University of Notre Dame, the Archdiocese of Louisville, catholic education, and our favorite religious order, the Dominicans.

We hope the blessings we have received in this life will help spread the Good News of Christ through these bequests. The Archdiocese has many ministries which allow a family to focus their legacy support on the issues most important to them. You, too, can continue to spread the faith and support the poor beyond your lifetime with a legacy gift to the Archdiocese of Louisville.  It is never too early to codify how your estate should be distributed, because we do not know when God will call us home.

Lincoln Lewis, Jr. in loving memory of Nancy Naughton.