Professor Thommes Gives With Bequest and Gift Annuity

Dr. Robert Thommes

Robert Thommes (CSH ’50, MS ’52) entered DePaul Academy, the high school that once was affiliated with the university, in 1942 at the age of 14. It was the beginning of a relationship that lasted more than 40 years, including decades as a professor of biology. In gratitude he has created a charitable gift annuity with the university and is giving DePaul one-third of his estate through a bequest in his will. He also made a gift to furnish an environmental science laboratory.

Thommes says he particularly likes the gift annuity because of the payments for life that he receives.

“I came from a lower middle-class background, and DePaul was the right place for me,” he says. “DePaul has been true to its mission: It takes first-generation college students and moves them up in terms of academics and social mobility.”

Thommes won a scholarship in elementary school to attend DePaul Academy, where he studied under the Rev. John R. Cortelyou, C.M., who went on to serve as DePaul University president from 1964 to 1981.

“I fell in love with biology in high school, and part of the reason was John Cortelyou,” Thommes says. “He taught me in high school, taught me in college, and gave me my first job.”

After earning his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biology from DePaul, Thommes went to Northwestern University, earning his Ph.D. in 1956—the same year he began teaching at DePaul. He retired in 1988 and moved to Sarasota, Fla. Although he has only been back to campus twice since then, he always knew he would be making gifts to DePaul.

“My view would be that you do some good with your money,” he says. “People should always remember where they came from, the people and institutions that helped them. Down here in Florida I talk to a lot of parents of DePaul graduates, and they say their children are very, very happy.”