Alumna Honors Family with $12 Million Gift to Iowa State

Many faculty, students and programs at Iowa State University will benefit from a $12 million bequest from Iowa State alumna Frances Craig. One of the largest gifts on record at ISU comes from the 1949 home economics graduate who passed away on November 26, 2005 at age 79.

“Frances, or Frannie as we called her, always knew she was going to leave her assets to Iowa State but she never talked about it,” says Midge Toole, Frances’ cousin. “She never wanted to call attention to herself. She liked staying in the background.”

Even as a kid growing up in Des Moines, Frances was quiet and shy. Her parents, Mary and Dan Craig, came from big families, so Frances was always surrounded by many aunts, uncles and cousins living nearby. Only one year apart in age, Frances and her cousin, Midge, became very close.

“I would stay overnight with Frannie often. Like her, I was also an only child so we got thrown together a lot,” recalls Midge. “She was very quiet and unassuming. You could often find her off alone somewhere reading a book. It wasn’t until her early teens that she began participating more.”

Frances’ extended family was large and very close-knit. They did the traditional family activities together, celebrated holidays and birthdays and also shared a strong affection for Iowa State University.

“Frannie’s dad, Dan Craig, not only graduated from ISU but became president of the ISU Alumni Association in 1939. My father, two of his brothers and six cousins all went to Iowa State,” Midge laughs. “As far as our family was concerned, you were going to attend ISU, there was really no decision to be made.”

Frances followed in her family’s footsteps. After a year at William Woods College, an all girls school in Missouri, Frances enrolled at Iowa State. She became active in her sorority and graduated in 1949 with a bachelor’s degree in home economics.

“I think she was very happy at ISU,” recalls Midge. “We were in the same sorority and she got involved a bit with the group activities. She was there to do her part and do it well.”

Upon graduation, Frances taught home economics in a high school on the west coast for a couple of years before moving to the Chicago area. There, she worked as an executive secretary for the Greyhound Corporation. While in Illinois, Frances earned a master’s degree in education and discovered a love for traveling. She toured around the United States and visited several countries including China, England, Ireland, and Scotland.

“I remember a trip we took to Hawaii in 1952. Frannie loved it there, but she was not a sun-lover. We would sit around the pool and Frannie would sit there in a long sleeved shirt and a towel over her face and legs just looking like a mummy,” laughs Midge. “But she loved to explore and see the sights.”

Frances, who was often described as “her father’s daughter” because of their close relationship and similar mannerisms, also visited Iowa often. Dan Craig died in 1958 and when his wife, Mary, died in 1991, Frances received a large inheritance. Soon after she established her will, and because Frances had no children and never married, she decided to leave the bulk of her estate to Iowa State as a way to honor her parents.

“I believe Frannie did it as a way to honor her father,” Midge explains. “She absolutely adored him and the whole family loved ISU, so it was a way to honor him more than anything.”

Frances died on November 26, 2005 at the age of 79 and left behind a great legacy. Her bequest, combined with past family gifts to Iowa State, created the Craig Family Fund; with earnings to be used at ISU for areas of greatest need.

“The gift made by Frances Craig is a wonderful example of how ISU’s alumni keep this university great,” says ISU President Gregory Geoffroy. “This gift will help Iowa State continue on the path of academic excellence while supporting our incredible faculty and students, and for that we are truly grateful.”

A bequest naming Iowa State in a living trust is the easiest and most popular deferred git plans used by alumni and friends. Donors may name the Iowa State University Foundation as a percentage beneficiary, for a specific dollar amount or specific assets, or as a residual or contingent recipient.