Orroks Support Children and Harvard with Charitable Remainder Unitrusts

"We can’t predict the future, but it’s fun to try," says G. Timothy Orrok AB '52, PhD '59 to his wife, Francene, while discussing what their planned gift may ultimately support at Harvard. “The only thing I’m sure of is that supporting the education of the next generation is bound to have a positive impact on the world.” When some investments matured, the Orroks decided to establish a charitable remainder unitrust (CRUT) at Harvard. Their trust is invested with the University’s endowment, under the direction of Harvard Management Company. When the CRUT matures, the Orroks are planning to designate the principal to ultimately support University programs that "promote positive gains for humanity."

" We have always given yearly to Harvard, and the University has long been a part of our estate plan. By starting now, we give a larger amount to Harvard for the future, and get a return on our investment in the meantime, "says Fran. After enjoying the benefits of their first CRUT, the Orroks went on to establish two subsequent CRUTs, with the income going to Fran’s children. Julie Kaye and Russ Silbiger, both around 50 years old, will receive a stream of income equal to 5 percent of the value of the CRUTs for life. As the value of the CRUTs change, so too does the amount of income that Kaye and Silbiger receive.

The Orroks welcomed this opportunity to pass money along to Fran’s children, and to do it in conjunction with their philanthropy. "The CRUTs provide my children with a comfortable income at the point in their lives when they can use it, and Harvard gets a much larger return in the end," says Fran.

Tim’s "emotional ties" to Harvard made the University a natural choice for the couple’s philanthropic giving. Tim’s father was a member of the Harvard College Class of 1927, and Tim’s College and graduate degrees in physics from Harvard propelled his successful scientific career. He spent most of his professional life at the Bell Telephone Laboratory in New Jersey, but, for the decade of the 1960s, he was in Washington, D.C., helping NASA achieve the Apollo mannedlunar landings. With degrees from the University of Michigan and Wayne State University, Fran has had a successful career as a psychology professor, therapist, and leader in the Human Potential Movement. She sees today’s brain-behavior research as the new frontier of human advancement.

“ We have always given yearly to Harvard, and the University has long been a part of our estate plan. By starting now, we give a larger amount to Harvard for the future, and get a return on our investment in the meantime. ” FRAN ORROK

For now, the couple is enjoying retirement in bucolic Ashland, Oregon, content that their charitable gift will grow over time, offering income to them, support to Fran’s children, and ultimately furthering the work of the University.

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