Personal Donor Stories

Marlin Kerstetter

As children of the Great Depression, Marlin Kerstetter and his three brothers were no strangers to hard times, both financial and personal. They grew up poor and their mother died during childbirth when Marlin, the oldest, was 14.

"Having a difficult time at home, Marlin moved in with our grandmother," recalled Elbert, the youngest and only surviving brother. In a short time Marlin finished high school early, graduating a month before he turned 16, and then took a job as copy boy for the Sunbury Item, followed by a job with Joe the Hatter.

When the Great Depression hit, Marlin was out of the hat business and joined the U.S. Army. He served in Panama, and after the service returned to his hometown in Northumberland County where he found work at the Sunbury Silk Mill. More importantly, he met Anna Brocious. Anna was the love of his life, whom he adored for each of the 61 years they were married.

The Second World War took Marlin back to the Army, this time to Germany. He was 32. After the war he worked for the Railway Post Office and later the Harrisburg Post Office, taking an early retirement in 1970, and then going to work for a weekly shopper.

Marlin was a shy, mild, religious man, who was a member of Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church. Marlin and Anna never had children, and together they lived a quiet, contented and frugal life in Camp Hill, across the Susquehanna River from Harrisburg.

According to Elbert, through all his jobs this quiet man never made more than $8 an hour. He'll also tell you Marlin treasured every dollar he could save, and save he did - in bank accounts, CDs and mutual funds. By the time life had worn him down to the point that he asked his little brother, Elbert, to take care of his finances, Marlin had amassed $1 million. "Marlin was terrible at keeping paperwork straight," Elbert recalled. "When I started helping him, I found accounts all over the place. I don't believe he knew how much he had."

Elbert did well by Marlin and Anna, growing the investments to $1.5 million over the seven years before the ravages of Alzheimer's and lung cancer called Marlin home.

When Anna died a few years later, she followed Marlin's wishes, disbursing their wealth among a dozen faith-based charities, including Volunteers of America.

Marlin and Anna's story is one that surfaces from time to time, a story of individuals who lived through the Great Depression, led modest lives and yet managed to build substantial wealth.

Theirs is also a story of love and concern for others who struggle in life.

Volunteers of America is extremely grateful for the legacy Marlin and Anna established through their will. Thoughtful bequests like theirs help us serve those most in need, especially the vulnerable, the hardest to serve and those facing multiple challenges. They help Volunteers of America change lives.

Office of Planned Giving
1660 Duke Street
Alexandria, VA 22314-3427
1-800-899-0089, ext. 5073 | Fax: 703-341-7070
E-mail: rimbach@voa.org

Planned giving content and Legacy Planner © 2008 VirtualGiving, Inc.
Disclaimer and Privacy Notice