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$700,000 Gift from Zakrajsek
Ralph Zakrajsek, who passed away on Nov. 30, 1999, didn’t look like a millionaire or have a rich man’s lifestyle. But over years of hard work he built up a substantial fortune. And thanks to his thoughtfulness and foresight, Queen of the Valley Hospital Foundation has received a gift of $700,000, well over half of the more than $1 million charitable remainder trust Ralph created in order to help the hospital and other charities, friends, and relatives.
“When he set up this trust, Ralph showed a great deal of financial sophistication and a real desire to do something for his community,” says David Johnson, the Foundation’s executive director. “We’re deeply grateful that he had the vision to make this extraordinarily generous gift.”
Ralph was born in tiny Boon, Michigan, one of 15 children. He moved to California and, after serving in the Army as a “cat-skinner” (a bulldozer operator), began doing engineering design on projects as disparate as giant bridge cranes and small machinery. This career led him to the Mare Island Naval Base, where he worked for almost 24 years as an engineering designer.
During his working life Ralph never earned more than $35,000 a year from his job. But he was an astute investor in the stock market who parlayed his savings into a very substantial nest egg.
Ralph was also astute enough to realize that, without careful planning, his estate would be heavily taxed on his death. He and his attorney moved to avoid that outcome by setting up a charitable remainder trust, with the QVH Foundation as the ultimate beneficiary of a substantial portion of Ralph’s assets.
The trust provided tax advantages to Ralph during his lifetime and gave him a comfortable annual income. It also allowed money that would otherwise have gone to the tax man after Ralph’s death to instead go to a charity that was important to him.
Asked last year why he had chosen to make the Foundation his trust’s largest beneficiary, Ralph answered, “When I was a patient at the Queen, the doctors were so thorough, and there was so much personal attention.” He went on, “I’ve had quite a life. Now it’s good to be able to give something back.”
