Planned Giving Donor Profile
Penny Pasquesi ‘66 Kuhnmuench
Donor Remembers Good Friends, Good times
 |
| Penny (on right) and classmate Tom Davis. |
In many respects, Penny Pasquesi ’66 Kuhnmuench has always been a leader for Carmel Catholic High School. She was senior president for the first Carmel for Girl’s 1966 graduating class and continues her leadership as a founding member of the Carmel Catholic Alumni Association-Texas Chapter and a committee member for the Class of 1966 40th Class Reunion last summer. She is among the first of our alumni to include Carmel Catholic in her estate plans as a bequest. She also has been a loyal contributor to Carmel Catholic’s Annual Fund since 1992.
As a member of Carmel Catholic’s first class, she has many fond memories of her classmates and the strong bonds they formed at Carmel Catholic High School. “We were a very close knit group,” she said of her classmates. Penny transferred to Carmel Catholic from Holy Child High School in Waukegan when the girl’s side opened in the fall of 1963, a year later than the boys’ side. “Everyone just clicked. We established a lot of traditions, did everything for the first time and had a great time doing it. I made friends from all over Lake County. As the first graduating class, we had a unique experience that made Camel special,” she said.
Currently, Penny works for Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. (ACS), a Fortune 500 information technology outsourcing company, as Vice President of Communications. She lives in Flower Mound, Texas with her husband Bill and her two teenage children. As a parent, she knows that passing on her family values and expectations to her children is important. “I find myself saying many things now as a parent I never thought I would say to my children when I was a teenager,” she said with a laugh.
“…I thought sometime in the future someone would want a Catholic education for their children and may not be able to afford it. I wanted to help them achieve their goal.” |
Penny initially included Carmel Catholic in her estate when she was single. She felt she needed to create a will because she was doing well in her job and wanted to make sure her estate wouldbe distributed to people and organizations important to her. At the time, she said she decided in include Carmel Catholic because of her close connection to her school. Although she now has a family, she has decided to keep Carmel Catholic in her will.
"Catholic education has become increasingly expensive and I thought sometime in the future someone would want a Catholic education for their children and may not be able to afford it. I wanted to help them achieve their goal,” she said.
Penny still keeps in contact with some of her classmates and faculty members from her days at Carmel Catholic. To help launch the Texas Chapter, she hosted its first gathering in 2005. Carmel Catholic has more than 145 alumni located in Texas.
During her class reunion in June of 2006, she saw the bond that her classmates had with each other was still strong. “It was good seeing everyone,” she said fondly. Even after 40 years, “we still saw each other through younger eyes and couldn’t help feeling like teenagers again.”
Along with the great social experience she appreciates the “outstanding education I received. The faculty taught us and prepared us well,” she concludes.
For additional information, please contact Michael C. Looby '75, Gift Planning Director at 847-388-3338.
