For the Thornes, their 66-year marriage has always involved sharing a passion for giving back. After spending more than three decades in Hawaii supporting community nonprofits, John and Mary Karyl Thorne are back in Orange County, where they continue their legacy of giving.
“About 30 years ago, we made our first gift to the Hawaii Community Foundation to support basic human services, food banks and culturally important causes, including public radio and television. When we returned to Orange County, we weren’t familiar with the local nonprofits, so we reached out to OCCF for guidance.”
The Thornes knew they wanted to continue supporting similar nonprofits doing the essential work of human services and working to solve hunger, along with public programming and others. But they needed help in identifying local organizations and in setting up a legacy gift.
“OCCF was remarkably insightful and proactive in aligning our passions to fund organizations and causes that are important to us—ones we wanted to sustain as long as possible to make a real difference.”
Today, the Thornes will continue to support these important causes—even after their lifetimes—through a legacy gift that will fund local organizations including Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County, Big Brothers Big Sisters and Goodwill.
We live simply and want others to live more fruitful lives. We’re fortunate to be in a position where we can think about our legacy—and establish a gift that will sustain the work of organizations we believe in. – John and Mary Karyl Thorne
