A Meaningful Gift to Memorialize a Loved One

Frank Peragine made a gift to Loyola University New Orleans in honor of his late wife, Ann.

When Frank Peragine first met his bride-to-be, Ann Kothe, in 1952, they were both students at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. He was from a small town in Philadelphia; she was from Gretna, Louisiana. Frank was finishing law school, and Ann was close to finishing her undergraduate studies in education. They married and started a family, so she put her graduation on hold—for nearly 40 years.

Sadly, Frank lost Ann in 2014, after 61 years of marriage.

Today, Frank, a retired attorney, lives about one mile from Loyola University New Orleans in the same New Orleans Uptown home the couple shared for decades, the home where they raised their four children.

Frank, who had little previous connection to Loyola, recently made the decision to memorialize his beloved wife by establishing the Ann K. Peragine Scholarship for Louisiana Women, which will honor Ann and her Loyola education, and generously provide financial aid to other women students who are Louisiana residents.

Frank says he was inspired to establish the scholarship because Ann did a rather unusual thing when she was in her late 50s: She decided to go back to school to complete nearly 45 hours of an undergraduate degree. She chose to attend Loyola, and Frank says, "She loved it."

"She got quite a lot out of it," Frank says, "especially her association with some of her professors. She really loved history, philosophy and religious studies—the courses, and all the readings. She was an avid reader, and so she particularly loved all of the reading assignments. And every time she wrote a paper, she got very interested in the subject and, most often, got extra books for even more reading on the subject."

He recalls that his wife became especially interested in a class on the history of India and did considerable research to write a paper on Lord Louis Mountbatten, a British statesman, naval leader, and the last viceroy of India. "She would tell me about how the British exploited the country, and she was quite adamant about it. Lately, I've looked over some of the materials she received in her class, and I see that she was right, that she was learning much more of the story than I knew."

Dr. Nancy Fix Anderson, now an emeritus professor of History, taught the class on India. She remembers Ann Peragine and says, "As often happens with older, returning students, especially women, Ann worked twice as hard as her classmates." She adds, "I recall she was a wonderful student, who easily engaged with the others and seemed relaxed and definitely part of the community."

Frank feels that Loyola was the perfect place for Ann to complete her degree. "Loyola is a great place to get a broad, liberal education that includes a deep appreciation for aspects of Christianity and religion," Frank says, adding with a smile: "And she got a real kick out of her young classmates; there was some good camaraderie between them. She would come home and tell me humorous stories about their different attitudes."

He says Ann grew up in the Lutheran church in Gretna and attended Gretna High School, where her aunt, Lillian Walter, was a teacher. In addition to her studies at Loyola, Ann became very involved in her work as a Eucharistic minister at Holy Name of Jesus Church on Loyola's campus.

Today, Frank has yet another connection to Loyola: The couple's granddaughter, Wilhelmina Peragine, and her husband, Jacob Steubing, are both graduates of the class of 2007. Last year, Wilhelmina and Jacob, who now reside in Oakland, California, had their first child: A daughter whose name is Melpomene.

Memorials are the perfect way to honor a loved one, and Frank chose to establish the scholarship in Ann's memory with gifts of appreciated stock and distributions from his retirement plan. He also named Loyola as the remainder beneficiary of a charitable gift annuity. For more information about how you can memorialize a loved one and provide financial aid to students, contact Kevin Maney at kmaney@loyno.edu or 504-861-5442.