Morgan and Marjorie Thomas made Mankato their home many years ago. Teaching careers brought the Iowa couple to Minnesota State University, where they touched hundreds of young lives as educators. Together, they carved a place for themselves in the community—built tight bonds, and set roots.

Morgan taught 29 different business-related subjects and served as Dean of the College of Business for 32 years. Morgan retired 24 years ago, but a willingness to help others continues in the form of generous financial support. With gifts through the Foundation, Morgan and Marjorie have contributed to numerous campaigns and programs for years. They gave their first gift to Immanuel St. Joseph’s Foundation over 15 years ago, and have remained active supporters every year since.

“Good things happen with the money that’s given to the hospital and that’s important,” Morgan says. “We trust that our gifts stay in this area to help the people here. That means a lot to us.”

Morgan and Marjorie haven’t forgotten their humble beginning and credit their giving to past experiences.

“If it hadn’t been for football scholarships, I would not have had the opportunity to go to college,” Morgan shares. “The way I see it, I benefited from the generosity of others, so I’m glad to be in a position to help someone else now.”

“We feel a responsibility to the people here,” Marjorie shares. “They became a big part of our lives. Anything we can do to make life better for all of us, well, that’s what it’s all about. Supporting the hospital gives us a way to extend help to a large number of people. The Foundation provides us with an opportunity to do good things in this community that has been our home.”

Morgan understands firsthand how important immediate care, close to home can be to someone needing heart care. “I’ve had a heart attack,” Morgan shares. “I had wonderful care at ISJ.”

Morgan’s heart attack was a frightening experience for Marjorie, too, but she says the concern and willingness to help from everyone at Immanuel St. Joseph’s helped make her feel comforted. “They kept me informed, which helped me a lot. We’d never had anything like that happen before, and it showed us firsthand how important ISJ is to all of us who live in this area,” Marjorie says. “A good hospital is absolutely essential to the quality of life we have here.”

“We appreciate their support in the past as well as their contribution to our current campaign,” says Bob Weiss, Foundation director. “Consistent generosity from people like Morgan and Marjorie Thomas are fine examples of how individuals really do make a difference in our community.”

“It’s important to help others,” Morgan says. We’re pleased to be able to give something back. The opportunity to have a facility of such caliber like the new heart and cancer center should be enough to stir anyone to want to support it.”