Barbara Cone has always known the value of education. As a child, before heading to the beach, her father had her study wave patterns. When she entered the University of Michigan in 1955, she was one of only a dozen women in that year’s engineering class of 1,300 students. And, for more than 40 years, Cone has been tutoring for the East Grand Rapids Public Schools.
It just makes sense, then, that Cone, who is now a sprightly octogenarian, plans to include the East Grand Rapids Schools Foundation in her estate plans. After all, the Foundation has been working on behalf of East students as long as Cone has.
After tutoring privately since 1963, Cone started working for EGRPS after her sons, Timothy and Michael, graduated from East. “The district wanted to help students who were struggling, so they asked me to start a tutoring program,” Cone says. “I’ve tutored kids on every street in town. Even that street that has only one house on it.”
Now, Cone wants to make sure future East students have access to the same opportunities she’s been providing since 1985. Including the Foundation in her estate plans will do just that.
“That’s my legacy,” Cone says proudly. “I want to fund programs for those kids who need a little extra help. There are always going to be kids who struggle. Giving to the Foundation fits with my sense of community, of doing things together, to help each other. I want that to be what people remember about me.”
