The University of Toledo

Ethel Wagenhauser Still Able to Offer a Hand to Others

Her good heart was made evident early, by the sacrifices Ethel Wagenhauser made for her family.

Her father died when she was young, noted Mrs. Wagenhauser’s cousin Richard Williams and his wife Elizabeth. “Ethel quit high school to go to work, in order to earn income for the family,” said Mrs. Williams.

One objective was to ensure that her younger brother, Norman Kies, received a college education. The family took pride not only in Norm’s graduation from UT in 1941, but also in his successful professional baseball career. He served as catcher for the Toledo Mud Hens during Casey Stengle’s tenure and advanced to the New York Yankees, for whom he played eight years. After an injury blinded him in one eye, he turned to coaching and teaching physical education in Toledo Public Schools. Mr. Kies died in 2001.

Mrs. Wagenhauser enjoyed 50 years of marriage to her husband Clyde, who died in 1994, and a 32-year secretarial career with O-I. However, she and her brother remained close.
 
Before her death in September 2009, she chose to memorialize him through her estate. Her $375,000 endowment gift to the UT Foundation created the Norman C. Kies Baseball Scholarship for members of the UT baseball team.

Mrs. Wagenhauser’s estate also established a second endowment fund. Through a gift of approximately $425,000, she created the Ethel U. Wagenhauser Scholarship in UT’s College of Nursing.

“Ethel was a patient at the Kingston Care Center for several years prior to her death,” noted Nancy Koerner, UT’s director of planned giving. “She was impressed and thankful for the compassion and care provided by the nursing staff.”

Consequently, she targeted the scholarship for students in UT’s baccalaureate nursing program who have a demonstrated interest in the field of geriatrics or elder care.

Those who were fortunate enough to have met Ethel Wagenhauser will easily recall the woman’s foremost characteristic, said Mrs. Williams. “When you met her, she would grab your hand and just hold it. She will always be remembered for her strong and heartfelt hand clasp.”

Through her generous estate gift, Ethel Wagenhauser–a woman who once sacrificed her own education for others–will offer a helping hand to ensure a college education for generations of students at The University of Toledo.