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A giving relationship

Norm and Nellie Porch have been donating to Bradley University for 47 years, but they felt they still had one more gift up their sleeves.

The couple decided they wanted to add to their lifetime donations by designating a gift through their estate.  This eventual gift will be added to the Norm and Nellie Porch Endowed Scholarship, increasing the principle in the fund to nearly a quarter of a million dollars.

Norm, 81, who graduated in 1952 with a degree in Business Administration, did not receive a scholarship when he attended Bradley; his education was financed by the federal government’s G.I. Bill when he returned from military service in 1947.

“Because of the G.I. Bill, I was able to receive a great education at Bradley,” said Mr. Porch, a former division manager for Laclede Gas in St. Louis. “That was something that I wanted to try to pass along to other young men and women.  I wanted to see them receive the same great education I did, which is why we established the scholarship in the first place back in 1988.”

Norm, who met Nellie while he was attending Bradley, said the couple has thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the recipients of their scholarship who generally are business majors from Pekin or St. Louis.

“We’ve received so many nice cards over the years and it’s really great to hear from the young people who have benefited from the scholarship,” Mr. Porch said. “In fact, about 10 or 15 years ago, we received a letter from a former recipient.  He wanted us to know that the scholarship was still paying off because he had just made partner at his accounting firm.”

That hasn’t been the only scholarship recipient to show their gratitude to Mr. and Mrs. Porch.

“There was one recipient of our scholarship that called me and said he was thinking about switching majors, but wasn’t sure,” Norm said. “So when I was in town for an alumni function, we sat down and talked about it.  I told him some of the things that I had learned in my business career and he wound up switching to economics.  He called me later the next semester to tell me he had made the Dean’s list.”

Mr. Porch said that he and his wife would never had guessed the magnitude that their gift would reach when they first began donating money all those years ago.

“We realized that kids today didn’t have the GI Bill so we started kicking in a few dollars here and there to help them receive a quality education,” he said. “And now it’s grown into something much bigger, and we are so happy.”

Karen, the oldest of the Porch’s five children, is also a Bradley graduate, as is Norm’s brother, Paul.  Karen graduated in 1977 with a nursing degree, while Paul is part of the 50th anniversary Class of 1959.

“I was so flattered that [Karen] chose Bradley and I know that Nellie was flattered that she decided to pursue a career in nursing,” Norm said.

Mr. Porch admitted that he was surprised to find out one day that his family’s ties to the university run deeper than even he knew.

“When I was still working, I came to campus one time to give a lecture to one of the business classes,” he said. “And when I showed up, I realized that one of my cousins (Phyllis Porch) was in the class!  I think she was even more surprised than I was.”

Like his older brother, Paul Porch also graduated with a degree in business administration after serving in the United States Air Force during the Korean War.  After working as director of employee benefits for a major furniture company, Paul decided to also start an endowed scholarship at BU.

The two brothers now live 23 miles apart in Missouri – Norm in Spanish Lake and Paul in Chesterfield – and Norm says they still have breakfast together once or twice a month.

“We never talk about the scholarships or dollars and cents with each other,” Norm said.  “It’s just such a pleasure to know that our money is at work for such a good cause.”