Joe Hahn grew up on Arch Street in Monon and graduated from Monon High School in
1951.
He played basketball, proudly hoisted the team’s sectional trophy, and was selected for
the All-County team a couple of times.
But that legacy pales to the one he is leaving to benefit current and future students from his home community.
After a year at Purdue and a stint for the Army in Korea, Joe settled in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he established a well known and very successful business that sold cabinets and doors all across the western United States for over 30 years until his retirement and sale of the company. He and his wife Dory then owned a marina for ten years. “I never did know much about boats,” Joe once chuckled, but his son-in-law added, “He knew a whole lot about cabinets and doors!”
Having worked with hundreds of employees in a hands-on business during his lifetime,
Joe passionately believes in creating educational opportunities within our local schools that can prepare our students for the workforce.
“Not everyone is going to college, and not everyone wants to. We need more plumbers, electricians, and construction people…more hands-on trades people, and that includes nurses and cosmetologists. We need to support those choices and help students get there. The earlier they can explore those opportunities, the more valuable they are to themselves, their community, and to future employers.”
North White Superintendent Nick Eccles couldn’t agree more.
To that end, Joe gifted $100,000 to the Community Foundation of White County to
establish the Joe R. Hahn “North White Trades Education” Fund. Per Joe’s wishes, half of his
gift has been invested into permanent endowment, from which disbursements will be issued
annually. The remaining half will be available to help North White purchase equipment for the exciting expansion of its trades education curriculum.
And that’s just the beginning.
In his estate, Joe has provided for gifts that will bring his total investment to at least
$1,000,000.
Joe and his immediate family continue to live in Albuquerque, though return to Monon
frequently to visit extended family. He now has new members of his family: the Community
Foundation, North White Superintendent Nick Eccles, and hundreds of students—present and future—whose lives forever will be impacted by his vision and generosity.
For more information about how you can create a legacy, contact Community Foundation Director Leslie Goss at 574-583-6911.
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