A small family of farmers and ranchers in Coffey County wanted to leave something lasting to help children receive the medical care they needed but their families could not afford.
Instead, they have given the remarkable gift of medical care, plus the bonuses of educational scholarships, vouchers, and grants, and a host of tangible recreational and governmental service gifts from parks to professorships.
The Emporia State University campus is packed with evidence of the generosity of the Jones brothers — Walter and Evan — and Walter’s wife, Olive.
“We are forever grateful for all of the gifts that have come to our university and its students because of the foresight and charitable hearts of the Jones family,” said Emporia State Interim President Jackie Vietti. “They seem to have touched every corner of the campus in some way, and we are much better for it.”
The Jones brothers were reared on a farm north of Lebo in Coffey County. They inherited 200 acres of land around 1900 and formed a partnership in farming and cattle.
While Evan remained single throughout his life, Walter married Olive Taylor in 1911, adding another partner to the brothers’ successful business, Jones and Jones.
Walter died early in 1953, with Evan following only a few months later. The brothers had drawn up identical wills and Olive, who died in 1957, had not drawn up a will, but had consented to her husband’s.
The trio’s intent was to help provide assistance for medical expenses for children under 21 years of age who lived in Coffey, Lyon, or Osage counties.
The scope of the gift was expanded in 1961, when a court ruled that educational benefits could be added for residents of the three counties, regardless of age. The Walter S. and Evan C. Jones Foundation was established April 24, 1974, to administer those grants.
As time passed and various sectors of the economy thrived far beyond expectations, the family’s charitable gesture evolved into two well-funded entities — the Jones Foundation, which assists individuals with educational and medical expenses, and the Walter S. and Evan C. Jones Testamentary Trust, committed to the same.
Both the Trust and the Foundation have had far-reaching effects that would have surprised the Joneses, according to Emporian Tom Thomas, a board member of both the Jones Foundation and the Jones Trust.
“They never could have dreamed what it was going to amount to,” Thomas said. “Not in their wildest dreams would they have ever figured out what that gift was going to amount to.”
Thomas said that hundreds of individuals and institutions have benefitted from the Jones family’s generosity.
Emporia State University, because of its location in the three-county area and the eligible students it draws to campus, has been a natural recipient for a multitude of gifts from both the Jones Foundation and the Trust, Thomas said.
The Walter S. & Evan C. Jones Foundation Scholarship gave $387,910.30 directly to Emporia State students from 1981 through 1995 through individually named grants.
Over the past 19 years, the Jones Foundation has given nearly $7 million directly to Emporia State University in grants to almost 2,000 of its students. The monies have been used to cover the costs of items like tuition, fees and books for a maximum of eight semesters.
In 2008, the Jones Foundation introduced the Jones Tuition Voucher, which tripled the number of students who received an annual award.
Each graduating senior from the tri-county area who attends Emporia State University is eligible to receive the $1,000 voucher. The voucher is renewable for eight semesters, providing the student maintains a cumulative 2.0 grade-point average and completes 12 at least credit hours each semester.
Sharon Tidwell, executive director of the Jones Foundation, said that eligible students also may received additional funds through grants based on financial need.
A total of 3,886 Emporia State students have received either the tuition voucher or a grant since 1995. During the 2014-15 academic year alone, the Jones Foundation gave more than $850,000 in direct support to Emporia State University, with $350,500 going to 373 students through the tuition voucher program and $499,678 going to 141 students through the grants. The programs overlapped for 75 students, whose cumulative benefits totaled $310,554.
The vouchers and grants are part of the Jones Foundation’s goal to create communities with unsurpassed standards of sustainable heath and education opportunities for eligible citizens living in the tri-county area, Tidwell said.
“With this vision and mission, I think it becomes quite evident as to why the Jones Foundation grants the amount of dollars it does to the vast array of educational institutions, not only here locally, but state and nationwide,” Tidwell explained. “The foresight of the Jones Brothers was absolutely incredible, and their generosity even more so! It is our forever job to carry on that generosity that began almost 60 years ago.”
Jones Foundation board members, in addition to Tidwell and Thomas, are Jeff Longbine, Max Stewart Jr., Greg Bachman, Megan Evans, Jeff Larson, and Cheryl Mussatto.
The other piece of the Jones legacy — the Walter S. & Evan C. Jones Testamentary Trust – is also dedicated to improving health and education within the three-county area.
Since 1983, Emporia State University has received almost $3 million in gifts through the Trust. Among those are $750,000 for the Jones Distinguished Professorship, $525,000 for the Jones Institute for Educational Excellence; $321,000 for Cram Hall renovations; $500,000 for the Jones Professorship for the Advancement of Teaching; $337,500 for the Super Turf playing surface at Jones Field in Welch Stadium, $46,540 for the Hammond Heights Complex Campaign Fund, and $500,000 for the department of nursing.
Other major projects funded at the university by the Jones Trust are the Jones Distinguished Lecture Program, the Jones Policy Center and the Jones Laboratory.
Tony Twyman of Kansas City, Mo., and Greg Bachman, Jeff Larson, Max Stewart Jr., and Tom Thomas, all of Emporia, advise on grants that come directly from the Trust.
With its latest gift in support of ESU’s department of nursing, the Jones Trust became one of the more than 10,000 donors to Now & Forever: The Campaign for Emporia State University.
“The Jones Trust and Foundation are difference makers,” said Shane Shivley, Emporia State University Foundation vice president for development, “and they’re vital partners in our effort to advance the University’s vision to change lives for the common good.”
Launched in February 2013, Now & Forever: The Campaign for Emporia State University is a five- to seven-year effort with a working goal of $45 million. It is already the most successful fund-raising initiative in university history, with financial commitments now exceeding $36 million.
The campaign supports student scholarships, academic departments and initiatives that advance Emporia State’s mission to recruit students, teach and retain them, encourage them to graduate with lower levels of student debt, and ultimately put them on a path to a solid career.
For more information about Now & Forever giving opportunities, contact Shane Shivley, Emporia State University Foundation vice president for development, sshivley@emporia.edu, 620-341-5440.