WABASH - The late Dr. Howard Liebengood of Silver Lake began working with his professional advisor, Ralph Naragon, many years ago to create an estate plan that would accomplish his goals.
A $1.6 million gift to the Community Foundation of Wabash County was part of that plan.
This bequest is the largest single gift in the Community Foundation of Wabash County's 55-year history. The funds will add to four endowments Liebengood established during his lifetime and will create three additional endowments that reflect his areas of interest. His endowments include:• $500,000 for the Dr. Howard and Helen Liebengood Scholarship Fund (created in 1997).
• $300,000 for the Howard B. Liebengood Donor Advised Fund (created in 2001).
• $252,500 for the Howard B. Liebengood, DVM and Helen F. Liebengood Cornerstone Endowment.
• $200,000 for the Dr. Howard B. & Helen F. Liebengood Good Deeds Endowment (created in 2002).
• $200,000 for the Ruth Scholer Liebengood Memorial Donor Advised Fund (created in 1994).
• $143,300 for the Howard B. Liebengood, DVM and Helen F. Liebengood 4-H Endowment (Kosciusko County).
• $100,000 for the Howard B. Liebengood, DVM and Helen F. Liebengood Kosciusko County Animal Shelter Endowment
According to Naragon, Liebengood chose the Community Foundation of Wabash County to receive these funds because it provided a great deal of flexibility.
That flexibility allowed Liebengood to create a variety of funds including: designated endowments that will provide support for 4-H and the Kosciusko County Animal Shelter; donor advised funds that allow Liebengood's designee to direct funds to charitable organizations and programs; and unrestricted endowments that add to the Foundation's "Good Deeds Endowments," which fund the three competitive grant cycles each year.
The establishment of the Howard B. Liebengood, D.V.M. and Helen F. Liebengood Cornerstone Endowment capped off the Foundation's Cornerstone Campaign. The Foundation's Development Planning Committee has been working to reach $500,000 in operating support since 2006.
"We are truly awed by Dr. Liebengood's gift," says Foundation Executive Director Tracy Trump. "We'll never truly be able to measure the impact of his decision to include the foundation in his estate plans."
His love for animals and dedication to his goals led Liebengood to earn his doctorate of veterinary medicine from Kansas State University in 1939. Liebengood opened his first veterinary practice in Bentonville, Ark. The next year he and his wife Ruth moved to Bremen and started a practice there. He furthered his professional experience by purchasing a livestock auction facility in Plymouth, and building a veterinary clinic adjacent to it.
Ruth died in 1949, leaving Howard to raise his son, Howard Scholer Liebengood, alone. In 1965, Howard sold the auction facility and clinic and in 1967, he married Helen Herber Glaze of Guymon, Okla. The couple moved to Silver Lake, where he operated a practice limited to preparing and certifying cattle for interstate and international shipment.
"He wanted to make sure kids could get the boost they needed to help with their education," said Lokotar. Thanks to his generosity and the Community Foundation, kids will get that boost for good.
