It was always Washburn
For all his adventures and interests, one constant in Cyrus Elting’s life has been Washburn.
Carmen and Cyrus Elting
Cyrus “Cy” Elting’s lifetime of adventures has taken him around the world and back again – from Kansas to Chile to New York to Barcelona, and many points in between. He is the type of person who can casually start stories with things like, “So I hopped a Yugoslavian freighter bound for Casablanca…” And yet, for all his travels and despite the fact that he was never technically a student here, Washburn University plays a key role in his life story. For that reason, when it came time to plan their estate, Washburn featured prominently.
“It’s amazing how many of my memories are Washburn related somehow,” Cy mused. “My wife, Carmen, and I are just people interested in learning – and culture – generally, so living in Topeka so many years, Washburn has always factored into our lives.”
A Topeka High School graduate, Cy attended Kansas State University to earn his undergraduate degree in chemical engineering. “Even then, over the summer I worked with a Washburn professor, Kirk Romar (bs ’56), helping him do surface tension research.”
Cy went on to earn a master of business administration degree from Purdue University in Indiana before beginning his travels in earnest.
“After so many hours of coursework, I was ready to do other things.” Those “other things” included a Peace Corps stint in Peru, a north-south journey through the Americas and a stint in New York City, before the aforementioned trans-Atlantic freighter trip took him, ultimately, to Spain, where he settled and taught English to business students. It was during that time he met Carmen, who was working at the stock exchange in Barcelona while taking night classes in English.
Washburn reentered Cy’s life when he and Carmen, newly married, returned to Topeka and he began his career as an engineer at Southwestern Bell. Carmen began taking classes at Washburn in English and many other subjects. “Just whatever interested her,” Cy said. “Through the ’80s, she was a perpetual student. It really helped her acclimate and gave her a lot of joy.”
In his own downtime Cy, a music lover, became involved in the early days of the Sunflower Music Festival, eventually becoming a board member and organizer.
“To have this kind of musical programming – this level of talent – available in Topeka every year, free to the community, has been incredible,” Cy said. At other times of the year, he and Carmen would often watch music performances brought to their homes through KTWU programs like “Live from Lincoln Center.”
So when Cy and Carmen began talking about the potential to make a gift through their wills, Washburn was never far from their minds. They decided to leave a portion of their estate to support the Sunflower Music Festival, create a scholarship in the modern languages department and make a gift to KTWU.
“Washburn really is the center of learning, of culture, of arts and science in Topeka. As Carmen and I look back on what place made a difference in our own lives, in so many ways, it was always Washburn.”
Like Cy and Carmen, you can make a difference by creating your legacy at Washburn with a gift in your will or other part of your estate plan. To learn more about your options, contact Erin Aldridge at 785.670.4483 or PlannedGiving@wualumni.org.
Information contained herein was accurate at the time of posting. The information on this website is not intended as legal or tax advice. For such advice, please consult an attorney or tax advisor. Figures cited in any examples are for illustrative purposes only. References to tax rates include federal taxes only and are subject to change. State law may further impact your individual results. California residents: Annuities are subject to regulation by the State of California. Payments under such agreements, however, are not protected or otherwise guaranteed by any government agency or the California Life and Health Insurance Guarantee Association. Oklahoma residents: A charitable gift annuity is not regulated by the Oklahoma Insurance Department and is not protected by a guaranty association affiliated with the Oklahoma Insurance Department. South Dakota residents: Charitable gift annuities are not regulated by and are not under the jurisdiction of the South Dakota Division of Insurance.