i Oral History Program Jack D. Lampros Interviewed by Rebecca Ory-Hernandez 9 July 2012 ii Oral History Program Weber State University Stewart Library Ogden, Utah Jack D. Lampros Interviewed by Rebecca Ory-Hernandez 9 July 2012 Copyright © 2012 by Weber State University, Stewart Library iii Mission Statement The Oral History Program of the Stewart Library was created to preserve the institutional history of Weber State University and the Davis, Ogden and Weber County communities. By conducting carefully researched, recorded, and transcribed interviews, the Oral History Program creates archival oral histories intended for the widest possible use. Interviews are conducted with the goal of eliciting from each participant a full and accurate account of events. The interviews are transcribed, edited for accuracy and clarity, and reviewed by the interviewees (as available), who are encouraged to augment or correct their spoken words. The reviewed and corrected transcripts are indexed, printed, and bound with photographs and illustrative materials as available. The working files, original recording, and archival copies are housed in the University Archives. Project Description The Weber and Davis County Communities Oral History Collection includes interviews of citizens from several different walks of life. These interviews were conducted by Stewart Library personnel, Weber State University faculty and students, and other members of the community. The histories cover various topics and chronicle the personal everyday life experiences and other recollections regarding the history of the Weber and Davis County areas. ____________________________________ Oral history is a method of collecting historical information through recorded interviews between a narrator with firsthand knowledge of historically significant events and a well-informed interviewer, with the goal of preserving substantive additions to the historical record. Because it is primary material, oral history is not intended to present the final, verified, or complete narrative of events. It is a spoken account. It reflects personal opinion offered by the interviewee in response to questioning, and as such it is partisan, deeply involved, and irreplaceable. ____________________________________ Rights Management This work is the property of the Weber State University, Stewart Library Oral History Program. It may be used freely by individuals for research, teaching and personal use as long as this statement of availability is included in the text. It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows: Jack Lampros, an oral history by Rebecca Ory-Hernandez, 9 July 2012, WSU Stewart Library Oral History Program, University Archives, Stewart Library, Weber State University, Ogden, UT. Jack Lampros July 9, 2012 1 Abstract: The following is an oral history interview with Jack Lampros. The interview was conducted on July 7, 2012, by Rebecca Ory Hernandez. In this interview Mr. Lampros, current Chairman of the Stewart Education Foundation, discusses his memories of Elizabeth Stewart and provides a brief history of her foundation. ROH: Today is July 7, 2012. I’m in the home of Jack Lampros. Present is Rebecca Ory Hernandez and Jack Lampros, in Ogden Utah. We’re here today to talk about the Stewart Education Foundation, the history of the Foundation, and memories of Elizabeth Stewart as Jack remembers them. So I’ll just start with you. Jack, why don’t you tell me your name and your date of birth? JL: My name is Jack Lampros and I was born in Florida, September 15, 1926. ROH: Very good. When did it come that you moved to Ogden, Utah? JL: I moved to Ogden, Utah right after I graduated from the University of Florida in 1949. ROH: Okay. What did you graduate in? JL: Business Administration. ROH: Very good. Okay. What brought you here to Ogden? JL: I married a girl from Utah. ROH: What’s her name? JL: Her name was Betty Hess. ROH: Betty Hess. What part of Utah is she from? JL: Ogden. 2 ROH: Ogden. Okay. So why don’t we fast forward a little bit to a time when you recall meeting Elizabeth Stewart and just tell me a little bit about how the Foundation came about and if you need to back up and go forward in time as you speak, that’s just fine. JL: Okay. I think to give you a little preamble to Elizabeth Stewart’s Foundation, we need to talk about her mother. Her mother, Mary Elizabeth Dee Shaw, was a Dee, of the very prominent Dee family here in the Ogden area. Her mother established the first foundation that I had any familiarity with. There was an attorney here in Ogden at that time by the name of Jerry [Jerome] Horowitz. Jerry came here from New York as a convert to the LDS church and he knew about foundations and charitable giving and so forth, which was at that time almost new to us. But he talked with Elizabeth’s mother, Mrs. Shaw, and suggested that she establish a charitable foundation. She actually established her foundation December 12, 1959—so quite a while ago. I was present at the time because I was a trust officer at the First Security Bank and I would be handling her account. The primary purpose of that foundation was to make charitable donations to the Thomas D. Dee Memorial Hospital. I don’t think that McKay Dee had been founded as yet but when it was founded then that foundation began to give primarily to that hospital, but to other charitable organizations as well. That instilled in Elizabeth Stewart—and Elizabeth’s full name is Elizabeth Dee Shaw Stewart; she was proud of all of her names—the idea of charitable giving. So Elizabeth established a foundation. She established what we call the Stewart Education Foundation and she established it, as I recall it was right at 3 the very end of 1977. I think December 29, 1977. The primary goal of that foundation was to help educational organizations as well as other organizations. Elizabeth was a graduate of Weber State University. She had worked there in her younger years and loved Weber State immensely. We know one of her desires was that most of the money from that foundation be given to Weber State University. She named a board of managers to help her manage the foundation, although she called most of the shots. We were there to give direction and advice. But she named Dean Hurst and myself as members of her original board, with the provision that once she and her husband, Donnell, passed away, that Dean and I would annually select board members from that time on. Well, she knew Dean very well and loved him immensely because he had been her bishop and he was also connected with Weber State University and he certainly had the best interest of the University in mind. He would talk to her about different things that she might do for and on behalf of the University. She always took his advice. Later, another former bishop of hers by the name of Bill Stromberg—C. William Stromberg, but everybody called him Bill. He was added to the board and became a very influential member of the board. She loved and respected Bill a great deal. After she passed away, I was elected Chairman of the Foundation, with Dean Hurst as the Vice Chairman and Bill Stromberg as Vice Chairman. After Bill died, his son Richard Stromberg took his place on the board. We have tried in all our pursuits, all of our endeavors—we have tried to keep Elizabeth and her wishes in mind. We often ask ourselves, “What would Elizabeth want?” If we 4 think that’s what she wanted, then that’s what we do. So I would say that at least one half of all our charitable givings from the Stewart Education Foundation has been directed towards Weber State University, because we felt that was what Elizabeth would like us to do. ROH: Okay. When did Bill pass away? When did he die? JL: I can’t remember the exact date. It’s been maybe five years ago now. ROH: Okay. I can’t remember the date either. I can look it up. I was just curious if you knew off the top of your head. So at this point who is on the board of the Stewart Education Foundation? JL: At this point we have myself as Chairman, Dean Hurst as Vice Chairman, Richard Stromberg as Treasurer, and the three of us comprise what we call the Executive Committee. We meet often as a trio and discuss policy and pursuits that we want to do. Also, as a member of the Foundation Board, is Mary Barker who is affiliated with Wells Fargo Bank. She administers the trust on behalf of the bank. As associate members we have Bernice Stromberg, who is Bill’s widow; we have my daughter, Jamie Lampros Shenefelt; Dean’s daughter, Kristen Hurst Hyde; and I think that’s it. ROH: Okay. Going back, can you—I don’t know if you can remember this far back, but can you remember the very first gift from the Stewart Education Foundation and what was surrounding Elizabeth’s thoughts at the time? JL: You know, I cannot remember the first but I can make a good guess. I would suspect it was the Stewart Bell Tower. 5 ROH: Okay. Yeah, the Bell Tower. And um, tell me a little bit about what her intent was for—I mean, if she was such a big supporter of Weber State, why do you think that was her intent, to create a Foundation that would give so much back to Weber State? JL: Well, I think for one thing, she greatly admired Dean Hurst. Dean Hurst was like a son to her. She took his advice and counsel and I’m sure Dean influenced her that way a great deal. Although, she had an innate love for Weber State without him and would no doubt have supported Weber State anyway. But I’m sure that Dean Hurst had a great influence on her charitable giving to the school. Elizabeth was a very charitable person. She loved everyone. She wanted to help everyone. As a trust officer at the bank who administered her estate, I know how much she gave of her own personal funds and not just out of the Foundation. If she saw anyone in need, she would write them a check. If a repair man came to her home and repaired her air conditioner and she began to talk to him and found out that he was struggling a little bit, it wasn’t long before she would call me and tell me to pay off the mortgage on his home. That way she thought it would make it easier for him. She did that for quite a few people. There were many people, I always felt, who took advantage of Elizabeth’s good nature and generosity and I would tell her so. But she didn’t care. She would rather err on the side of generosity than not to give to somebody who might need help. She was a wonderful person. She named Dean and I to her board because—she called us ‘her boys’ and she had no children of her own, so she kind of lavished her interest in us and Bill. ROH: I see. Where do you think that came from—her great interest in philanthropy? 6 JL: You know, you study evolution and I’ve always been taught that acquired characteristics cannot be inherited, but I think she inherited that generosity. You go right back to Thomas D. Dee’s widow, who established the Dee Memorial Hospital—she was very charitable. I’m sure that before her even, there were very charitable people in her family. Everybody in her family that I know of, are and were very charitable people. The Dees—her mother was a Dee—they were very charitable people and I think Elizabeth inherited that love of being charitable and helping people. ROH: Now where did the wealth come from originally? Are you aware— JL: Yes, I know where that wealth came from. It’s an amazing story. It came from what was originally called Utah Construction Company. Most people today would not know about Utah Construction Company but it was a fabulous organization. It started here in Ogden as a construction company and then it grew. It had some very far sighted people running it—the Dee’s, the Brownings, the Harrises, the Eccles—they were the ones who established the Utah Construction Company. They built such things as the Hoover Dam and the Oakland Bay Bridge. They were a big organization and they kept expanding and expanding and expanding. Finally, I believe it was 1977, they merged with the General Electric Company. The Utah Construction Company made a lot of millionaires here in Ogden. You’d be surprised how many multi millionaires Utah Construction Company made here in Ogden. One time the President of Utah International was speaking up at Weber State—his offices were in San Francisco, but he came here to give a talk. I went to listen to him and afterwards I went up to him and said, “You don’t know 7 me but your company has provided me with a very good living for many years.” He said, “You may think you’re the only one who’s ever told me that story, but you’re not. I’ve heard that many times.” So Utah Construction really was the source of their wealth. ROH: Okay. So she was a descendant on the Dee side of Utah Construction. Are there any stories that you could share about Elizabeth that might be connected to one of the gifts that the Foundation has made, just kind of looking back? JL: I can’t think of a lot of stories. I do know this, you can go up to Weber State and stand in one spot and look North, South, East, and West, and would not find a spot that you wouldn’t see Elizabeth’s influence, starting with the Bell Tower, then the Library, now we have Elizabeth Hall, then a wing of the Art Center for her mother, the Dee Events Center—she was a large sponsor of the Dee Events Center. I’m sure I’m missing some but—Lampros Hall, Hurst Center, Stromberg Center, all resulted from her influence. ROH: Tell me about currently what’s happening with the Stewart Education Foundation. I know that it’s been really wonderful to have the Stewart Education Foundation in Ogden because you give not only to Weber State, but to lots of other organizations in town and it helps the city. So tell me a little bit about some of the other projects that the Foundation helps with. JL: Well, we built the Amphitheater in downtown Ogden by the City and County Building. We’ve helped almost every organization—the Nature Center, the Eccles Community Arts Center, the Weber County Libraries. I’m hard pressed to think of it all. We’ve worked with United Way in helping them. We’ve established 8 scholarship programs through the Ogden Rotary Club, let them make scholarship presentations. We are currently suffering from the economic recession that our start portfolio is down considerably in value. We’re trying to economize some of the gifts that we are making until we can get back on a level playing field again. The stock market collapse of 2008 hit our Foundation extremely hard. As a result, we are over committed in our gifts and we’re trying to not accept, request, or make time, making any more pledges for the foreseeable future. We are paying now on the new student dormitories at Weber State University, but we still have a few years yet to make those payments. I think three more years before we have that pledge completed. After that we don’t have any pledges and we are committed to kind of holding back a little bit and being very careful and selective in anything that we commit to in the future until the economy turns around. There for awhile, we were so overwhelmed with funds that if an organization came and asked us for ten thousand dollars we’d give them a hundred thousand, but then things changed. ROH: That’s a nice position to be in. JL: We hope we’ll be back in that position again one of these days. ROH: I’m sure you will. You are all very savvy. Is there anything that I might not have asked you that you would like to say about the Stewart Education Foundation as far as historical information or something that I might not have touched upon? JL: Well, I’m sure there is but I can’t think of anything at this exact moment. I probably will as soon as you leave. 9 ROH: Okay. I wanted to try to capture a snapshot of the history and of your involvement and how all of this came about because I don’t think we have an oral history version of the beginnings of the Stewart Education Foundation. I’d like to thank you very much for your time. JL: My pleasure. [Jack Lampros’s personal thoughts of Dr. Ann Millner] JL: I’ve known Dr. Millner for nearly all the twenty years she has been here with Weber State University. I first met her when she became associated with the Development area. During the time that I’ve known Dr. Millner I have found her to be a woman of exceptional capabilities and integrity. Her sparkling personality and her great intellect has won her the hearts of all of Utah. She will be greatly missed as she steps down from the helm as President of Weber State University. I know I will miss her, my family will miss her, everyone I’ve talked to will miss her. It will be hard to replace her. In fact, I don’t think she can be replaced. I think she will be succeeded but never replaced. We have a winter home down in Florida and during the ten years that Dr. Millner has been President of the University, each year she has found some time to come down and spend a few days with Betty and me at our winter home in Fort Myers, Florida. Those were visits that Betty and I eagerly looked forward to and they were fun times. We did some great things. We took a ferry boat ride over to Key West. We rode a sea plane to the Dry Tortugus [National Park.] We went alligator sighting in the 10 Everglades. We did nature tours and even attended a bonsai tree workshop. Last year I took her on a tour of cemeteries where my ancestors had been buried. I’m sure that was boring to her but she acted like she enjoyed it. That was another great trait of Dr. Millner. Every time I would talk to her she would give me her undivided attention and act like what I was saying was the most important thing she had ever heard. Of course, that endeared her to me a great deal. When she was in Florida, if there was an important athletic event coming up here at Weber State or some other important occasion, she would end her trip, head to the airport, and make it back to Utah so that she could be on hand to encourage the students. You talk about bleeding purple. She really supported the University. I was always amazed at her stamina—the way she was able to go—her administrative skills, her fundraising talents, her teaching abilities, they are all just superb. Betty and I are going to miss our monthly lunches with you, Ann. We’ve enjoyed those little visits and we’ll certainly miss them. Our wish is that a kind providence will smile down on you in your future endeavors.