$1 million planned gift creates scholarship in honor of Frances Meier Bleakly 1923
October 28, 2024 — In the mid-1980s on her first visit back since graduating from Grinnell College more than 60 years prior, Frances Meier Bleakly 1923 stopped at her favorite building, Herrick Chapel.
Accompanied by her son and his wife, Ed and Ann Bleakly, Frances’ face lit up as she spotted the place she had spent so much time in as a student.
“It was summer, and Herrick was locked,” Ed recalls. “But a professor who was walking by stopped and asked if we wanted to go in. He got a key and mother was able to go in. Tears came down her face with the remembrances.”
To honor Ed's mother Frances Meier Bleakly 1923, Ann and Ed Bleakly (pictured) created the Meier/Bleakly Endowed Scholarship Fund.
It was at that moment, says Ed, that he and Ann decided to make Grinnell the main beneficiary of their estate even though neither attended the College. Now in their 80s and retired from successful careers, Ed and Ann want to provide Grinnell students the same opportunities and experiences that Frances had.
To that end they’ve established the Meier/Bleakly Endowed Scholarship Fund. It will initially be funded by a $500,000 charitable gift annuity, then matched by a $500,000 gift from their estate.
Ed describes his mom as a deeply religious woman. A history major from Iowa who attended Grinnell alongside her sister, Clara Bekman 1923, Frances once went on a horse-drawn hayride date in Grinnell with future actor Gary Cooper 1926. She turned him down for a second date “because Gary didn’t wear a suit and tie for their first date,” Ed says.
After graduation, Frances taught elementary education at Perry, Galva, and Schaller Public Schools in Iowa until marrying Francis E. Bleakly in 1931. World War II and Rosie the Riveter eventually permitted married women to teach in Iowa public schools, and Frances completed her public school teaching career at Schaller and Storm Lake. She spent her final 10 years of teaching at Catholic schools in Danbury and Early, Iowa, then joined the Storm Lake Professional and Business Women’s Association after retiring and was named its 1982 Woman of the Year.
Besides their connection through Frances, Ed and Ann, who live next to the 6th fairway at Tucson’s Skyline Country Club, have furthered their relationship with Grinnell over the past two decades by frequently hosting the College’s golf teams on spring break trips, in conjunction with longtime former head coach Brian Jaworski.
“These young men and women are so intelligent; it’s a thrill to sit and listen to them. We thoroughly and completely enjoy having the golfers here,” says Ed, who’s retired from two careers: serving in the U.S. Navy and as a public information officer. Ann is a retired educator, and the two have visited campus over the years on trips back to Iowa to see family.
Jaworski is grateful for the Bleaklys’ support of the College. “Their love and joy for Grinnell students extended far beyond the generosity they provided for the golf teams. Ed and Ann’s priority was interacting with every member of the team, period. They wanted to spend as much time with the students as possible. At breakfast and prior to playing as much golf as we wanted, Ed and Ann didn’t want to sit with the coaches, they had their own space with the student-athletes.”
For 17 years, Jaworski says he witnessed Ann and Ed engage with all members of the team, ask questions, listen to their individual stories, and make them feel more than welcome. “They made us all feel special,” he says.
Ed says Grinnell students are going to do something in this world, and he’s “very proud that we can at least give them an opportunity to get out and do what they want. We feel the same way about the entire Grinnell College community. The people we’ve met have all been impressive.”
— by Anne Stein ’84