Blending sound and circuitry

Richard Wheeler was ahead of the curve. By the time he reached high school, he had already discovered the combination of passions that would shape the rest of his life and inspire him to make a blended gift — which includes a current gift and a gift through his estate plan — to support KU students who share those passions. 

The music came first; in fourth grade, Wheeler started taking lessons with a clarinet that had belonged to his uncle. He continued to play clarinet through high school and college, and — aside from a 10-year hiatus following graduation from college — he has now played for more than 60 years.

In seventh grade, Wheeler decided he wanted to become an electrical engineer. “I had no clue what that was,” he laughs, “but when my parents were having the knob and tube electrical system rewired on our house, I followed the electrician around. Seeing my interest in his work, he said I should become an electrical engineer. I set it as a goal, and it became my career.”  

Where passions found purpose

The summer after his sophomore year in high school, Wheeler got an introduction to KU — where his two interests would converge — when his parents moved from the Kansas City area to Lawrence. “I was not a happy camper about the move,” he recalls.  Because of his musical affinity, his parents enrolled him in the Midwestern Music & Art Camp (now the Midwestern Music Camp) for six weeks that summer. “That was my first encounter with KU music,” he recalls.

By the end of that summer, Wheeler was a happy camper (literally); because of people he’d met at camp, he started his first day at his new high school with friends already in place — and the experience set him on a trajectory towards a deeper connection with KU’s music program. He attended the camp the next two summers and went on to become a counselor at the camp during his first two summers as a KU student.  It was during one of those college summers that he met a piano-playing music theory major who would become his wife.

Along with marriage and music, KU also launched Wheeler’s engineering career. He spread the demanding course load out over five years (in part so that he would still have the capacity to perform as a Marching Jayhawk, which he did during all five years as a KU student), and finished with a degree that led him to a 39-year career in engineering at what was once Western Electric, then became AT&T, and is now Lucent Technologies.

Now retired and living in Naperville, Illinois, Wheeler just celebrated his 50th year playing clarinet in the Naperville Municipal Band. With a schedule that includes three to four indoor concerts per year and a weekly outdoor summer series, Wheeler has built an impressive repertoire during his 50 years with the Naperville band — but some of the music closest to his heart still comes from KU. “If you make 50 years [in the band],” Wheeler says, “you get to pick the music for a concert in your honor.”

Among Wheeler’s picks? “The University of Kansas March” by JJ Richards, and the KU fight song.

Paying it forward

Wheeler’s homage to KU doesn’t just stop at musical performance, though; he is committed to helping KU students build successful lives, as he has, in both engineering and music.  
To support the pursuit of both, Wheeler set up a $25,000 student support fund to benefit KU Marching Jayhawks who are majoring in engineering. The fund is endowed through a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD), which allows for direct transfer from an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) to a charitable organization.

“A QCD is the way to go,” he says. “[The charitable contribution] comes off the top, reducing taxable income — which can make more of a difference than itemizing a cash donation on a 1040. To me, it’s a no brainer.”

Often, QCDs allow donors to make larger gifts than they could by simply donating cash or other assets — which makes for a bigger impact.

Wheeler’s gift will continue to have an impact, because it blends manageable annual gifts through the QCD — to build the endowed fund over a five-year period — with a lump contribution from his IRA at the end of his lifetime. Wheeler hopes to lessen financial stress for the students who receive support from the fund, so that they’re able to stay engaged with both engineering and music.

“I was able to pursue both things my whole life, and I hope they will be, too,” he says, adding, “I believe in being multifaceted. Sometimes engineers tend to concentrate too much on the engineering side, and there’s more to life than just that.”

Lifelong dividends

Wheeler is one who would know about a life well-lived. “I have had an extraordinary, blessed life,” he says. “Loving parents and grandparents, a successful career, a wonderful wife, many friends, and children — including two KU graduates — who have been successful in their careers and married wonderful people.”

And KU played a large part in helping Wheeler shape that life, which is why he’s so dedicated to supporting fellow Jayhawks as they shape theirs.

“There came a time when I just looked around to see what I had received from KU, and I wanted to give some of it back,” Wheeler says. “I know the cost of education is a challenge for some students — but the return I got on my money was pretty damn good.”

If you are interested in creating a blended gift through a qualified charitable distribution and an estate commitment to establish a lasting legacy at KU like Richard Wheeler, please contact the KU Endowment gift planning team at [email protected] or 785 832-7339.