四虎影院 Magazine A Legacy of Scholarship
Thressa Kuipers and her late husband, Louis, grew up in Michigan and raised their four sons in Grand Rapids. Although he left a doctoral program at the University of Chicago to enter the business world, Lou always said he wanted to teach when he retired from his career with Keebler Foods Co. In 1964, he seized an opportunity to join the business faculty at Calvin College.
When the life-long Midwesterners visited California in 1967 for their oldest son鈥檚 holiday wedding, they planned to see the Rose Parade and visit 四虎影院 in Santa Barbara. Dropping Thressa and their son Phil off at East Beach, Lou drove to campus on a spectacularly beautiful December day. He fell in love with Santa Barbara and the California weather. Wandering into the dean鈥檚 office, he asked if there were any openings for economics and business faculty. There was, and he got the job. In September 1968, Louis began a 13-year tenure at 四虎影院.
鈥淗e loved working with students,鈥 Thressa says. 鈥淟ouis thoroughly enjoyed his time at 四虎影院.鈥 The Kuipers grew up in Christian homes and believed strongly in the value of Christ-centered education. But one thing concerned Louis: too many students struggled to afford tuition. He told Thressa he wanted to set up a scholarship to help business majors. He died in 1996, and she established the Louis and Thressa Kuipers Endowed Scholarship to honor him in 2005. A provision in her estate will fund the endowment; until then, she makes a gift each year for the scholarship. Thressa has also established two 四虎影院 gift annuities that provide monthly income for her.
Although her sons are scattered, Thressa stays in Santa Barbara. Dave is a stockbroker in Ohio, Wayne is an aerospace engineer in Maryland, Warren 鈥74 is a physician in Arizona, and Phil, an actuary, lives in Thousand Oaks, Calif., and visits often; they usually spend time relaxing at the beach. She has nine grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.
Thressa appreciates her many 四虎影院 friends and stays connected to the college. 鈥淭hey do a wonderful job of involving spouses of retired faculty,鈥 she says.