Passing on the Heirloom

With five generations from the area, the Glockner family roots run deep in Portsmouth. It's not surprising, then, that Andy and Barb Glockner feel a strong sense of responsibility to the community. The couple met at Notre Dame High School – the same school their grandparents attended, and the same school their grandchildren now attend.

"It's an amazing Catholic community down here," Barb said. "There's something special happening."

Through their own Catholic education, as well as through their children's, the Glockners gained a sense of community. They learned about their faith, learned to be caretakers of the faith community, and even helped to raise each other's children, Barb explained.

More than 30 years ago, Andy's own father also recognized the intrinsic value of a Catholic education, and as a result he started the Scioto County Catholic Schools Foundation, now administered by The Catholic Foundation. Designed to last forever by only spending the interest earnings, this fund could potentially preserve the Catholic school system in Portsmouth.

"My dad always saw the big picture," Andy explained. "It wasn't necessarily about yesterday or today, it was about planning for the future."

Andy inherited this special visionary trait, and in his late twenties he purchased a paid-up life insurance policy.

"I gifted the policy to the Scioto County Catholic Schools Foundation," Andy said. "I hope to accomplish the perpetuation of our Catholic schools."

"We've always been a huge supporter of the Catholic schools," Barb said. "It's nice to read and write, but if kids don't know God is first, they are missing out."

As Andy and Barb work to ensure that Catholic education is available for future generations, they pass on that special family heirloom of planning for the future – the one that Andy's father passed on to him so many years before.

Recently, Andy's son told him, "Dad, just like Papa, we must make sure these schools never fail and are perpetuated for future generations."