Chuck Wade's Legacy Gift Will Support Thayer’s Future

For more than 30 years, Chuck Wade ’49 has given his time and treasure to Thayer Academy as an active and very engaged volunteer. He has served as a trustee, a class agent, and an Athletic Hall of Fame Committee member and was presented the Alumni Loyalty Award in 2004 at his 55th Reunion.

In addition to giving generously each year to the Annual Fund, Chuck was intentional in setting up a planned gift via a charitable remainder trust. In this way he will be ensuring that future generations of Thayer students continue to receive the opportunity provided to him.

“I continue to think of different ways to support Thayer because the Academy has been ahead of things right from the start. They were co-ed from the beginning, whereas other ISL schools were male-only for a long time. I remember having returning WWII veterans in my classroom, men who were part of a program here to get college credits. Thayer is a leader in the field of reading—I’ve been impressed at how well prepared they are to help students like my grandson who has dyslexia. And the Academy is a leader in financial aid—there’s a good record of that here.”

His personal motto in life is “It takes courage not to be discouraged”—a motto evident in how he has lived his life supporting people and programs that lift people up from discouraging circumstances. Indeed, it was his personal experiences at Thayer and the Academy’s rich history of giving back that helped shape Chuck both as a student and as a philanthropist.

“I’m a dreamer,” he says. “When people say there’s nothing we can do about something, I think, ‘they’re just discouraged.’ As for me? I believe that there’s always something you can do.”