A Family Legacy for All Wildcats

David Martin '72 is one in a long line of Wildcats from his family. He and his siblings all attended Westminster, graduating between 1967 and 1974; his children, David '97 and Cameron '98, were Alpha Omegas; and he has a granddaughter, Ellie '28, currently continuing in the family tradition.

But it is his late mother's legacy of support and service that David is most invested in carrying on. Margaret "Peggy" Sheffield Martin was a Washington Seminary graduate from the Class of 1944. In the mid-1960s, as a parent of three students at Westminster and a member of the School's Board of Trustees, Peggy established an endowed fund to support teachers' salaries and help attract educators dedicated to improving the Westminster experience.

"To support the faculty and provide a long-term gift is a no-brainer," David says. "The teachers have the patience to nurture all their students—it's an incredible gift."

Through the years, David has been a regular contributor to the fund that bears his mother's name: The Margaret Sheffield Martin Fund. He recently decided to turn his annual gifts into a planned gift of a will bequest that will provide ongoing support for the School and its faculty.

David's planned gift demonstrates how influential Westminster has been in his life. He came to the School in third grade and spent a formative decade on this beautiful campus, surrounded by a supportive community, bright classmates, and, of course, dedicated faculty members who guided them through. Westminster was focused on giving students opportunities to develop leadership skills through activities like clubs, student government, teams, and publications.

"The longer you're gone, the more you realize the tools Westminster gave you to go out into the world and be successful. You get out in the community and you realize there are a lot of people who are very capable and smart, but don't have the leadership skills," David says. "I look toward what the world is going to look like for my grandchildren, for my great-grandchildren, and I know that Westminster is going to develop them into the leaders the world needs. That's why I invest in Westminster."

In addition to his financial support of the School, David invests time in service to his alma mater. He enthusiastically volunteered for the Class of 1972's 50th Reunion committee and joined the Alumni Governing Board in 2022. These commitments, along with being part of the Cornerstone Society and seeing another generation of his family benefit from a Westminster education, underscore the value of his planned gift.

"When I attend donor events, I look at the level of giving in the room and stand in awe. My gift is humble, frankly. You think, 'How can I make a difference?' But everyone's dollar makes a difference. You don't have to wait to give until it's a huge number; it doesn't have to be a big gift to have influence," David says. "A will bequest happens after you're gone, and you know it's going to an institution that you have vetted as being good stewards of donor gifts. It's the easiest money you'll ever give."