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caption, page 7:
Gift
Rev. Tom Meyer, left, and Bob Smanik of Day Kimball, stand next to the plaque in the hospital's surgical suite that was created with a 1998 gift from Mr. and Mrs. Ray Brousseau. Linda Lemmon photo.
Dilemma:
Privacy vs.
generosity
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
PUTNAM --- Such a dilemma ... and such a gift.
Three community organizations, Day Kimball Healthcare, the Congregational Church of Putnam and the Putnam Rotary Club Foundation, recently split about $1 million from the estate of Ray and Violet Brousseau. Day Kimball received about $300,000 as did the Rotary. The church received a little more than $400,000, according to its pastor, Rev. Tom Meyer.
Raymond Brousseau, former owner of Church's Clothing downtown, died in 1998. His wife Violet died last August, at 94.
But in typical Yankee fashion, Violet Brousseau absolutely did not want any fuss made over the gifts.
"Mrs. Brousseau was always a very private person," said Meyer, who knew Mrs. Brousseau, a church member, very well. "Privacy was very important to her."
She did not a funeral, he said. The gifts are "just another kind of memorial," Meyer said. The church has placed the donation in a trust fund. The interest generated from that endowment will be used "to continue the work of the church," he said.
Mrs. Brousseau always told Meyer "This was not my money. It was my husband's money and I want it to go where he wanted it to go," She didn't want any fanfare. She wanted the donations to be made quietly after her passing.
Which put the three recipients in a bind. How to honor such generosity AND honor her wishes? Day Kimball Healthcare acknowledged the gift this week and had asked Meyer to take part in their ceremony. Meyer said he struggled with it. "She was so willing to give to others, yet wanted to remain private," he said. "I definitely struggled with this (making it public)."
Mrs. Brousseau kept to herself and didn't mingle much, Meyer said. He believes the Brousseaus picked Day Kimball Healthcare because it is such an important part of the local community. Ray Brousseau, as a local businessman, was very active with the Putnam Rotary and believed in its standards. Meyer said the couple, who never had any children, was very active in the church for many years, adding they were married in that church. Meyer said Mrs. Brousseau's home was filled with "treasures" that were her life. She had postcards and photos and she'd often sit with Pastor Meyer and show him photo albums of trips she and her husband had taken. She loved to play bridge and loved her Siamese cat. But above all, she loved her privacy.
Bob Smanik, president and CEO of Day Kimball Healthcare, said "this is a tremendous gift." He said the organization would be looking for an appropriate match between where we are now and what they would have wanted." He believes part of the endowment may go to further enhance the surgical area as the Brousseaus had given more than $100,000 in 1998 for the suite, during The New Century Campaign.
Pamela Watts, Development director at Day Kimball Healthcare, said she was very touched when she found out how much was to be given. "It was a beautiful thing to do. They are such caring people. They remembered us when they were alive and now after," she said.