MONROE — A generous donation of a portion of local farmer John Deetz’s estate is greatly enhancing the South Wayne Community Fund and giving students in Lafayette County high schools the opportunity for a scholarship.
The South Wayne Community Fund, an endowment fund and a component of the Community Foundation of Southern Wisconsin, received a $25,000 gift from the estate to further support community projects that enhance the arts, education, health and human services, the environment, historic preservation, and more. Each year a portion of the fund’s earnings are reinvested into the community in the form of grants to local nonprofit organizations. Since it began in 1998, the Fund has given more than $44,000 to the local programs and projects.
The estate also established the John C. Deetz Scholarship Fund through the Foundation for graduating seniors of the following high schools: Pecatonica, Argyle, Black Hawk, Shullsburg, Benton, Belmont, and Darlington. A $1,000 scholarship will be awarded annually to a student attending a 2- or 4-year college, university or technical school, pursuing a career in agriculture, including environmentally friendly farming.
John C. Deetz was a fifth-generation farmer on the family’s land. He grew up on the home dairy farm, attended a one-room grade school in West Wayne, graduated from South Wayne High School, and attended the University of Wisconsin Farm Short Course in 1950. He entered into a farming partnership with his father in 1951 and continued farming for more than 64 years, dedicating himself to soil conservation and soil biology. Throughout the years, he purchased most of the land his ancestors owned. John C. Deetz passed away on Wednesday, July 25, 2018 at the age of 88 at Pleasant View Nursing Home in Monroe.
Both gifts will continue his legacy of community service and farming.
“What a beautiful bequest to leave that speaks volumes to the kind of person John was and his passion for community and agriculture,” said Linda Gebhardt, Director of Donor Services at the Community Foundation of Southern Wisconsin. “The South Wayne Community Fund and the Scholarship are gifts that will do a lot of good in the community and will last forever.”
For more information on the South Wayne Community Fund, the John C. Deetz Scholarship Fund, or The Community Foundation of Southern Wisconsin, call 608-758-0883 or visit www.cfsw.org.
