In Honor of Karl Jonske ’99

In 2002, Karl passed away in a car accident during his fourth year at the University of Chicago. “It has been 20 years and the ache still remains, but you learn to live with it,” explains his mother, Nancy. Avid volunteers and donors to the Catlin Gabel School, Fred and Nancy Jonske knew they could reach out to find a way to share the memory of Karl. Within a year of his passing, and thanks to contributions from friends, family, and the Jonskes themselves, they made the decision to establish an endowment. It would become both a gift to the school and a tribute to the life of their son and his passion for books.

The Karl Jonske ’99 Memorial Endowed Fund has since grown to more than $620,000 and provided thousands of library books and numerous visiting authors and lecturers to each of our divisions. The fund continues to grow with both contributions and investment earnings.

“At the end of the first grade,” his mother Nancy explains, “Karl discovered that books were filled with wonderful information and after that time he was never without one, or two, or more.” His father Fred describes him as having “a thirst for knowledge, eager to participate in new activities.” Karl would immerse himself in a wide variety of topics from Science Fiction to Latin. He enjoyed French, Japanese, comparative religions, and he thought Calculus was fun, but he also loved choir, theater, and sports. His classmates remember him fondly as being charismatic and having a “very unique sense of humor.”  Fred recalls with a smile that “Karl would pull a book out from his back pocket at a sporting event.”

“It makes us so happy that Karl’s love of books can be shared with Catlin students for years to come. Creating an endowed fund is a gift,” says Nancy. An endowment enhances the experiences of current and future students, creating a living legacy.  "If you have an interest, work with Catlin Gabel to establish an endowed fund now and add to it throughout your life with annual gifts, and possibly a planned gift through your will or estate,” adds Nancy.

Karl found the library to be a happy place of wonderment. “He thought Catlin Gabel libraries should rival Powell’s with options to explore,” his parents share. Karl fantasized about becoming an author and having his books on the shelves of libraries. Fred and Nancy reflected that “Karl may not have gotten the chance to place his own books and stories on the shelf, but through the endowment, he puts many books onto shelves to share.”

Creating an endowed fund is a gift. Nancy Jonske