Legacy Giving

Your planned gift is our hope for years to come.

Planned giving ensures that the work and mission of St. Paul’s UCC will be faithfully advanced for generations to come.

Legacy Gifts are donations of cash, stocks, or other assets pledges during a donor’s lifetime and relized by beneficiaries after the donor’s death. There are a number of ways to make a planned gift, each with its own advantages, requirements, outcomes and benefits. No matter the form it takes, planned giving is an expression of one’s values as well as a commitment to good stewardship - and those people and organizations we love and cherish.

A planned gift usually occurs through naming St. Paul’s United Church of Christ as a beneficiary of a:

  • Will

  • IRA/401(k)/Retirement Plan Assets

  • Life Insurance Policy

  • Bank or Brokerage Account

  • Revocable Living Trust

  • Annuity/Income Producing Plan

  • Other Arrangement

Planned giving is a legacy opportunity for everyone.

You don’t have to be wealthy to include St. Paul’s United Church of Christ in your will, trust or long-range giving plans. Planned giving is for anyone with a generous spirit for whom St. Paul’s UCC has been meaningful.

Planned Giving Resources

The St. Paul’s UCC Legacy Society Welcomes You

We invite you to become a member of the St. Paul’s United Church of Christ (SPUCC) Legacy Society, which honors those individuals who have remembered St. Paul’s UCC in their wills and financial plans.

If you have already named St. Paul’s UCC as a beneficiary through a will, trust or other deferred or estate gift, please let us know by filling out the Our Planned Giving Form or the Letter of Intent for an Estate Gift, so we can thank you now for the legacy you will leave later.

No details about your estate plan are necessary and you will automatically become a member of the SPUCC Legacy Society, Our Hope for Years to Come.

We thank the following members for including St. Paul’s United Church of Christ in their legacy giving plans…

Anonymous (1)
Julie Brown and Jones Adkins
Mary Carbello
David Cashman
Robert and Rebecca Galkiewicz
Charlotte Heinze
Monte and Mary Johnson
Eric and Candy Kehle
Craig Miller
Marilyn Miller and Diana Carlson
Donna Olson and Tracie Olson Payne
Vonda Pearson
Robert and Barbara Sherman
Marty Watson
James and Gail Westby

Remembering their Legacy

Mary Molkenbur

1946 - 2022

Mary Molkenbur was a beloved member of St. Paul’s UCC her entire life. Born in 1946, Mary was destined to be a teacher. Her father Bob was a high school chemistry teacher and her mother Luella was an elementary school teacher. Mary chose to be a middle school mathematics teacher and inspired another generation in her family to become a teacher, too! Her niece, Tami Boulton, is a high school math teacher. When Mary wasn’t at school, she found time to have fun traveling with teacher friends and traveled extensively every summer. Mary was close to her family and generously shared her home with nieces and nephews as they started their careers. They called her home “Aunt Mary’s Rooming House.” Mary was very active at SPUCC. She sang in the choir, was a member of the Building & Grounds committee for many years (and the first woman to serve on it), taught Sunday School, performed church historian tasks and was involved with many church activities. She helped start the monthly women’s gathering to provide a time for women to support one another, socialize and share their experiences. For Mary, her church was her family. Mary was never wealthy but she knew how to save and prepare for the future. She generously provided a legacy gift to her church family at SPUCC to help ensure our future. Mary is remembered very fondly by her family and all of her church friends at St. Paul’s UCC.

Don Koehn

1947 - 2021

Don Koehn was a fascinating, outgoing, and incredibly sensitive person loved by the congregants of St. Paul’s UCC. He was an only child who grew up in a suburb of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. When he was ready for college, he moved to the Twin Cities to attend the University of Minnesota. Don loved to travel especially to Germany because of his German heritage. He enjoyed visiting the Christmas markets to purchase Christmas ornaments. And these ornaments, along with the beautiful 150-year old ornaments he inherited from his family, were hung on multiple Christmas trees each year. Don was very fond of his Springer Spaniel dog named Bandit, who was his companion until Bandit died. Unable to live without a dog, Don adopted a ‘skinny dog’ named Frankie who needed a home. Frankie became Don’s trusted friend until Don’s death. St. Paul’s UCC was Don’s family. When it came to his beloved church, Don was task-oriented. He started the cookie basket program which entailed assembling and delivering cookies to home-bound members of our congregation. This important outreach activity remains a tradition in our church today. Don didn’t miss a chance to recruit a new member. When David Cashman visited our church for the first time, Don made a point to sit next to him, “chatted him up” as David said, and insisted he stay for coffee hour. The rest is history. Communion was an important part of worship to Don, and he was terrific at recruiting people as servers. If you attended one of the new member breakfasts, he wouldn’t let you leave the room until you had signed up to help serve communion. In addition, Don was an amazing liturgist whose readings were dramatic and memorable particularly those on Good Friday. Professionally, Don was an accountant who was generous to friends and others in various ways although he lived his life simply and frugally. For example, he didn’t feel he had to replace something as long as it worked and was useful. This included his beloved immaculate 18-year old Chevrolet Impala with 40,000 miles on it. Don loved his church and made a generous gift in his estate plan to St. Paul’s UCC. Because of his thoughtful gift, his love for his church and church family continue beyond his lifetime.

Meldean & Nancy Harnisch

1931 - 2021 | 1934 - 2022

Meldean Harnisch was a member of St. Paul’s United Church of Christ for over 75 years, and his wife Nancy was a member for more than 65. Their daughter Diane Johnston is still a member, and sent her children to the St. Paul Childhood Center for school in their early years. Both Nancy and Mel served in various leadership positions in the congregation, offering a welcome to newcomers, and Mel helped with Habitat for Humanity. In the last three years, the Harnisch’s gave several large gifts to the Church, and two estate gifts upon each of their deaths. Their faithfulness, generosity and planning will serve the ministries of our congregation for many years to come.