Two Meaningful Bequests

Gifts totaling more than $92,000 were received this year from the estates of two exceptional donors, Charles A. Wunder and Louise Cook Holmes.

Mr. Wunder, age 77, had been a faithful donor since 1996. A lifelong resident of Baltimore and avid supporter of the city’s arts institutions, he was a retired life insurance salesman. He grew up in a West Baltimore row house on Grantley Street with his family. One friend had this to say, “Charlie was erudite, well-informed, and funny.” Another added, “May you always have quail to hunt, lakes to sail, concerts to enjoy, bike paths to explore.”

Mrs. Holmes, age 92, who had begun to stutter at age 7 upon the death of her mother, was dedicated to philanthropy, and her dedication continues through a charitable trust established for various regional and national organizations. The Stuttering Foundation was chosen as one organization to receive funding.

She was educated in Nashville, Tenn., attended business school, and then worked for eighteen years for Estes Lumber Company before moving to Madeira Beach, Florida. There she worked as a bookkeeper and land developer until returning to Nashville in 2005. She was preceded in death by her husband, Frank, who was killed in the South Pacific early during World War II.

“These gifts from two people who knew stuttering firsthand play an important role in enabling us to carry out our ongoing work,” said Jane

-From the Fall 2011 Newsletter

CELEBRITY FOCUS

Frank Wolf

This Virginian congressman has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1981. The longtime supporter of the Stuttering Foundation drew national attention to childhood stuttering in 2006 when he submitted an article about Tiger Woods from the SFA newsletter to the Congressional Record. The congressman is featured in the Stuttering Foundation's Famous People Who Stutter brochure.

Bill Withers

While Bill Withers has long been on the Stuttering Foundation's list of Famous People Who Stutter, many people probably didn’t realize he stuttered. He passed away on March 30, 2020.

Born in 1938 in Slab Fork, W.V., Withers was the youngest of six children. When his father died when Withers was small, he was raised by his mother and grandmother, both of whom worked as domestics.

Lewis Carroll

The recent Disney version of Lewis Carroll’s classic, Alice in Wonderland, garnered a great deal of media hype. Even though the mainstream media has not made mention that Carroll was a person who stuttered, his family history gives credence to the discovery of the genetic link to stuttering. Carroll was born to parents who were first cousins; almost all of their eleven children, three girls and seven boys, struggled with stuttering past childhood.

Mel Tillis

Mel Tillis, born Lonnie Melvin Tillis, was an influential figure in country music, both as a songwriter and a performer. His journey to fame was marked by overcoming personal challenges, including a stutter that he turned into a defining part of his public persona.

Darren Sproles

Darren Sproles, a former player for The Philadelphia Eagles, the New Orleans Saints and the San Diego Chargers, made history in 2007 when he became the first player in NFL history to return a kickoff and a punt for his first two NFL touchdowns in the same game. In 2021, he was selected to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.