A legacy of support

A gift from the estate of Leona Smith will provide ongoing support for low-income seniors and working families in Dayton.

Leona Smith was a woman of firsts. She was the first woman manager at the General Motors plant where she worked. Her nephew and Godson, Al Stoff, was the first employee hired by St. Mary Development Corporation. And after her death in 2006, SMDC received its first significant gift from an estate — Leona’s estate. The donation will be used to provide ongoing support of SMDC’s missions to create housing for needy seniors and working families in the Dayton area.

“She always lived as a common person,” says Al, who is SMDC’s Compliance Manager. “She was a private person. She did her giving quietly, in charitable work as well as monetarily.”

Leona attended St. Mary Church, which is located next to Twin Towers Place, SMDC’s first apartment building for low-income seniors. (SMDC got its name from the fact that its first offices were located in the St. Mary Elementary School.) Leona often attended card parties at Twin Towers Place, bringing Al’s mother with her. It was the close proximity of the church and apartments that got Al involved with SMDC.

“In 1989, the year St. Mary Development Corporation was incorporated, I was the president of the St. Mary Church parish council,” Al says. “I was put on the SMDC board because they wanted someone from the parish involved. I soon began volunteering for SMDC on my day off from retail management. In spring of 1990, Sr. Rose and Dick McBride asked me if I’d like to work at SMDC. I’ve been here ever since.”

Leona Smith’s quiet generosity will serve the less fortunate for years to come. For information about how you can include St. Mary Development Corporation in your will and estate planning, contact Tim Bete at  937-277-8214 or tbete@smdcd.org.

“A gift opens the way for the giver and ushers him into the presence of the great.”

         -- Proverbs 18:16

We work toward the day when

all residents of southwest Ohio -- especially the economically disadvantaged -- have a decent, affordable

place to live and become part of a thriving community.