definition
gift agreement with Milton that pays you variable income for life

donor goal
secure an income stream for life

donor profile
best for those in retirement years

benefits

• a gift to Milton
• variable income for life based on the market value of the fund
• income tax charitable deduction
• reduced capital gains taxes on appreciated assets

funding

• typically funded with cash, appreciated securities or credit card
• $10,000 minimum gift to create a pooled income fund
• subsequent additions to an established pooled income fund may be smaller

our donors

Sonia Loizeaux (former faculty)
“I have two reasons that I give to Milton Academy’s Pooled Income Fund. The first is to honor Betty Buck, an unparalleled leader who was a personal and professional inspiration. Supporting the Elizabeth Greenleaf Buck Teaching Chair allows me to say thank you to the School for my many years of rewarding work and allows for her legacy to continue with new generations of children. The second reason that I give is to support a fund I established upon my retirement, The Sonia Loizeaux Fund for Early Literacy. Gifts from parents were added to that fund, and I have had the pleasure of continuing to contribute. I believe that the most important function of early education is to encourage a love of language, and the literacy team at the Lower School deserves our support. The fund was also a good way for me to generate a higher return on some investments and take advantage of a charitable tax deduction.”

Ben Burr '41 reminisces that he “will never forget Milton, the Sunday evening chapel services, the very impressive faculty and the relationships between the older and younger students. I have great hopes for Milton and I am very proud to be associated with the School. I know that people have a tendency to give to a place because of what it used to be and I do too; but I also give because I feel that Milton has grown appropriately with the times.”

Today, Ben Burr ’41 and his wife, Virginia, divide their time between Maine and Florida, enjoying the diversity and pleasures of both locations. Four children and two grandchildren keep them “spry and involved in life.”

After his Milton days, which began in the eighth grade, Ben went to Harvard as a member of the Class of 1945. In actuality, due to three years serving as an officer in the Marine Corps, Ben received his degree in 1947.

After having been called back for a year of duty in the Korean War, he resigned his commission in 1952. Rather than pursuing a military career, he launched into the textile business which included working in the Alexander Smith woolen mills. Later he worked at DuPont and Hercules with synthetic textile fibers, according to Ben, “a fascinating wide-spectrum business.” In 1975 he “took a leap of faith” into his second career, investing “ as a rank amateur” in the stock market; he continues to pursue this interest. “Thankfully,” relays Ben,“ We have been very lucky.”

“Milton was good to me and for me. I wanted to give back to Milton,” Ben says. “My connection to the School is very strong; my mother attended as a child, my older brother Peter ’36 along with many cousins graduated from Milton and my maternal grandmother lived in the town. There was no question about supporting the School. I had discussed planned giving with the development office but didn’t really pay attention until my good friend Sandy Wheeler ’41 suggested that instead of just writing a check to Milton Academy that I investigate a plan where I might benefit financially along with Milton.” Ben decided to invest in Milton’s Pooled Income Fund, which he says provided “ a way to give sensibly and meaningfully” , because it provides income for him and his wife for the rest of their lives while supporting Milton at the same time.

Herbert G. Stokinger '24
Stoky is a Milton Academy legend and a great supporter of the School,but he says that it’s the community of Milton Academy—its faculty, students and vision—that supported him in the beginning. Herbert G. Stokinger (Stoky) moved to the town of Milton with his mother and father in the summer of 1918 when he was 12 years old. Martin Souders, director of physical education and athletics at Milton Academy, also arrived in Milton that summer. Stoky met Martin on the town playing fields and began what was to be a lasting friendship. Stoky attended Milton High School, where he played basketball and baseball, earned letters in both sports and served as captain for both teams. During those years (1920-1923), Stoky and Martin saw each other frequently as Martin often officiated games at Milton High and at the Academy. In Stoky, Martin recognized potential and urged him to do a post-graduate year at Milton Academy. Stoky had always admired, he says, “the good spirit and discipline” of Milton Academy boys he had competed against and so he signed on for a year at Milton and earned a Milton Academy diploma in 1924.

Stoky went on to excel in baseball and basketball at Boston College, graduating in 1928. During his first fall at BC, Martin asked him to coach the Warren Hall Football League at Milton, which he did for four falls. ”I enjoyed coaching and was very impressed by the whole Milton Academy picture,” Stoky recalls. When he was a senior at BC, Milton Academy Headmaster William Field called Stoky, asking him to become a teacher and coach at Milton Academy. Stoky said yes!

“I was so anxious to coach at Milton because I had seen the quality of the boys,” he remembers. He was initially hired to teach math and act as Martin’s assistant director of athletics. His tenure as assistant director however was a short one: The very next year, 1929, Martin Souders was granted a sabbatical and later announced he had accepted a job at Exeter; Stoky was promoted to director of physical education and athletics. “It was the biggest prize that I could have,” Stoky remembers.

Martin not only got Stoky started on his long and accolade-filled career at Milton—Stoky didn’t retire until 1971—but he also gave him sound financial advice. Martin told him, “Start investing as early as possible and get your family comfortable,” which he did.

“When I got to a place where I was comfortable, it was time for me to give back to a school that had given me so much.” It was then, Stoky says, “I started making plans to pay Milton back. I felt so strongly that I owed Milton that I invested in Milton Academy’s pooled income fund.” Stoky and Esther (who died in 1998) spent over 50 years at Milton Academy. The Stokingers, always a team, were involved with Milton Academy life: Stoky with physical education and athletic director duties and Esther pitching in everywhere from teaching in the Lower School, managing responsibilities as a faculty wife, preparing athletic teas to fixing flowers for the chapel. During their years at Milton, they traveled extensively and most summers were involved in boys’ summer camps in Ontario, New Hampshire and Maine.

Stoky and Esther made so many contacts and friends and memories at Milton that is impossible to include every person and every shining instance. However, as a wonderful storyteller, one of Stoky’s many legacies to Milton is his coaching stories, rich in detail, personality and humor.

He recalls the fathers’ and sons’ game against Groton in the fall of 1946 as one highpoint of coaching at Milton Academy.

“Tom Spang was the captain. At the end of the first half we were behind 14-0. Houston Hale, our quarterback, was injured by a blow to the head and couldn’t play the second half. We sent in our second string quarterback, the son of the president of the board, Charlie Cabot. I deleted a number of plays and gave Charlie a list of eight plays to use in the second half. In 20 second-half plays we gained 400 yards—this included a 94-yard run by Luis Browne. We eventually won the game 37-26. There were so many heroes in that game.”

On the occasion of Stoky’s retirement, Commencement, June 12, 1971, Headmaster David D. Wicks said, “Here indeed is a Gentleman, a Sportsman and a Director.” Stoky will be 100 as of March 24, 2006.