• Donor Stories

Joan Meyer Lived to Help Others

She also worked with the Catholic Foundation of Southern Nebraska to establish a Donor Advised Fund that helped her support many of the Catholic charities she cared about. “Joan was always looking for a way to help,” Jim says. “She got more joy out of giving than receiving.”

Joan Delivered Joy

For nearly 65 years of marriage, Jim had a close view of the faith and generosity that guided his wife. He remembers her as a devoted mother to their three sons, a woman who worked quickly, and someone who rarely put off a job that could be done today. “She had her priorities in line, that’s for sure,” Jim says.

Those priorities started with her Catholic faith. Joan taught catechism for many years and gave countless hours to Holy Trinity Church in Avoca. For as long as Jim can remember, she served as the parish treasurer. After Sunday dinner, Joan would sit down at the table with the parish collection and do the books by hand. On Monday morning, she would take the deposit to the bank.

Joan’s positive energy showed up in countless other ways. Joan volunteered with the Bloodmobile for many years. She also set an annual goal of making 20 blankets and 20 quilts for Catholic Social Services. Sometimes, Jim remembers, dinner would be delayed because Joan was downstairs working on another one. Whenever someone asked whether he helped with all those quilts, Jim had a ready answer. “I oiled the sewing machine,” he says. “Joan did everything else.”

Finding Ways to Serve

Joan’s generosity often started with a practical question: What does someone need, and how can I help provide it? Matt Talbot Kitchen & Outreach became one place where her approach came to life. Joan spent years working with groups that prepared and served meals, and she’d often reach out to organizations that could provide support. “When it came to helping others, she was never bashful about asking people what they could provide,” says Jim. He remembers her arranging to get rolls from Omaha, and then bringing them home and buttering them before taking them to be served.

Lourdes Central Catholic School in Nebraska City was another important cause. Joan had lived in Nebraska City, and Catholic education remained close to her heart. Religious orders also held special significance for a family that included Joan’s sister, who was a religious sister. Over time, her giving reached Catholic schools, religious communities, pro-life organizations, and ministries serving people in need.

The list was long because Joan saw many places where she could help.

One Fund

Joan’s desire to support many different organizations eventually led her to the Catholic Foundation, and Chris Raun, Executive Director, remembers the Meyer family among the Foundation’s first donors. Jim gives her full credit for starting the relationship. “Joan handled almost all of that on her own, and I was glad she did,” he says. Through the Catholic Foundation, they established the Joan C. Meyer Donor Advised Fund, which provided a practical way to support the many causes Joan cared about.

The Donor Advised Fund allowed Joan, and now Jim, to recommend distributions to Catholic parishes, schools, religious communities, and charitable organizations that reflected their values. Instead of limiting their generosity to one ministry, the fund could help them respond to many.

A Donor Advised Fund also fit the way Joan already lived. Holy Trinity was important to her, as was Lourdes Central Catholic. Organizations like Catholic Social Services and Matt Talbot mattered, and the fund now supports many other religious orders and pro-life ministries.

Keep Her Legacy Going

After Joan passed away, Jim found himself responsible for an area of their life that she had largely managed. He looked at the long list of organizations she supported and initially wondered whether it might make sense to simplify things. Their sons encouraged him to see the list differently. “The boys said, ‘I want to keep doing what she was doing,’” Jim says. That is what he has tried to do.

The Donor Advised Fund continues to let Jim support many of the causes that mattered to Joan. He even thinks about whether those gifts need to increase as costs rise.

“If you keep giving the same amount, you’re getting less done. We’re adjusting some gifts to continue keeping her priorities moving forward.”

Jim Meyer

Jim’s Point of View

His own philosophy is simple. “Helping the poor is more important than ever. If you don’t need it, give it to someone else,” Jim reflects, pausing before adding. “I think that’s something we’ve lost along the way.”

Joan never needed many words to explain the value of giving back. She taught that lesson in catechism class and lived it by counting the church collection at her kitchen table every Sunday evening. The same truth was evident in her willingness to take time to make clothes for babies being welcomed into the Church or recruiting volunteers to help feed people who needed a meal. 

Still Helping Others

Whenever Joan had financial resources to give, she found a way to put those to work, too. Today, the 

Joan C. Meyer Donor Advised Fund continues to support the places and people she cared about. Jim describes the reason behind all of it best. “Joan always got more joy out of giving than receiving, and there’s no better way to honor her memory than by continuing the generosity she started.”