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 William Poole Family Fund
William Poole. The name has been prominent in
Delaware since 1701, when a young man settled in Wilmington after a
long journey from England. It remains a prominent name almost 300
years later – and will be perpetuated for generations to come – with
the William Poole Family Fund at the Delaware Community Foundation.
The fund honors the sixth William Poole, who died at the age of 88
on January 8, 1997, and his wife Louise. It will carry on their
lifetime ideals, their belief in community involvement.
William Poole was an attorney whose law practice was his
life. Even after his retirement in 1978, and until shortly before his
death, he continued to go to his office at Potter Anderson & Corroon –
the firm he joined in 1942. His other passion was a commitment to the
community, which he demonstrated by his involvement in numerous
community activities.
Bill took leadership positions at Goldey Beacom College,
Del-Mar-Va Boy Scouts Council, United Way and others. He was active in
Delaware Hospice and served as an Elder at Westminster Presbyterian
Church. “He went where he saw a need,” Louise Poole observed, “And I was
always proud to stand with him. It’s exciting to me that the William
Poole name will continue through the fund at the DCF, as well as through
my son, grandson and great-grandson.”
Louise recalled that Bill and a colleague were inspired
to establish the Community Legal Aid Society after attending an American
Bar Association conference. Bill later became involved in the struggle
to assure equal opportunity for all students when school desegregation
became an issue. “He had so many interests and was always working to
provide better opportunities for everyone in the community,” Louise
said.
“That’s why having the fund at the Delaware Community
Foundation is so important to our family - the DCF uses its resources to
help where the need is the greatest in the community,” added
daughter-in-law Elisabeth (Elisa) Poole, a former chairman of the DCF
Board of Directors and wife of second son, Richard E. Poole, now
chairman of Potter Anderson & Corroon. William Poole’s devotion to
community has also passed to his other children, William Poole VII of
St. Louis, Stephen C. Poole of Wilmington and Virginia P. Bainbridge, a
community activist in Southeast Connecticut.
The William Poole Family Fund will help build Delaware’s
community for today’s citizens and its future generations. At the same
time, it honors a family who placed a high value on helping to meet the
needs of the community. |
