Teacher, accountant, husband remembered with scholarship

Lenore and Keith DeLashmutt (JD '51) shared two great passions: traveling the world and supporting their favorite charities. By the end of their lives the couple had achieved both of these goals, setting foot in a vast array of countries and establishing an endowed scholarship fund at Loyola's Graduate School of Business. Even though the DeLashmutts have passed away, they have ensured that their names and memories will live on.

Born in Iowa, Keith DeLashmutt was a CPA who also received a law degree from Loyola's School of Law in 1951. During the early 1960s, he was an instructor at Loyola's School of Business and taught accountancy. "He was always extremely well liked by his students," says Charles Caufield, a colleague of Mr. DeLashmutt's at the SBA. "They really appreciated his knowledge and his dedication. I remember him being a strong collaborator with a good attitude and a great sense of humor."

In addition to teaching, for years Mr. DeLashmutt maintained a private practice in Evanston, Illinois. His wife, Lenore, hailed from a small town in Illinois and came to Chicago as a young woman. "They were lovely people," says Blomquist, Lenore DeLashmutt's sister-in-law. "Though they were very private people, they loved the world, loved to travel, and were very dedicated to the arts, education, and museums."

The DeLashmutts spent most of their lives in Evanston and were active members of the community. Among their favorite charities were educational institutions, museums, Native American arts, and Loyola University Chicago.

After her husband passed away in 1989, Mrs. DeLashmutt created a trust for which she designated one third of the remainder to pass to Loyola's Graduate School of Business in order to endow a scholarship. Nineteen years later, when she passed away, Loyola was also named as a beneficiary of a charitable remainder unitrust she had established. Through strategic gift planning, the DeLashmutt's left Loyola a legacy close to $1.65 million, sufficient to make a difference in the lives of many students.

Her gift will be used to establish a new scholarship at Loyola's Graduate School of Business, the Keith I. DeLashmutt Endowed Scholarship. Starting next year, the scholarship will be awarded to a student earning a Master of Science in Accountancy who demonstrates both high academic merit and financial need.

"The DeLashmutt scholarship will make a difference for our students far into the foreseeable future," says Abol Jalilvand, PhD, dean of the School of Business Administration. "Lenore DeLashmutt's generosity has made sure that her husband's dedication to our students will continue."