Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary // Nancy and Don Hyatt

Nancy and Don Hyatt

Nancy Hyatt, a native of High Point, North Carolina, always felt strongly about church vocations. While never feeling called to ordained ministry herself, she always wanted to put her gifts to work for the church. She finished Gardner-Webb College in the church administration program, and later received a Bachelor of Science in Office Administration at the University of South Carolina.

Nancy and her husband, Don, soon made Columbia, SC their home and the couple had two children, Alan and Donna. She stayed home to raise them, but soon after the kids were old enough to start caring for themselves, she accepted a secretary position at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church.

Working at the church, Nancy was finally able to follow her call to a church vocation. “I am a proponent for the saints working together, ordained or not,” she says. During her 17 years, she and the ministry team at Good Shepherd saw the congregation grow in size and impact to the community.

In 1997, she accepted a position at the South Carolina Synod office. While there she worked with the candidacy committee for students applying to and working towards a degree at seminary.

Nancy’s relationships with pastors, seminary students at her church, and her time working with students at the synod office nurtured a love for what the seminary does—preparing women and men for service in the church. This love and support for the seminary’s mission ignited a desire to help future students afford theological education.

Nancy called her Thrivent Financial for Lutherans advisor—her son Alan—to set up an end-of-life gift to the seminary. Along with the assistance of John Harmon, now a retired seminary development officer, they designated the seminary as the owner and beneficiary of her life insurance policy. As part of her gift, she requested that the funds be applied to financial aid for Lutheran students from the South Carolina Synod. She knows that her gift will help students that are following in the footsteps of the many she met in her years of church service.
Nancy saw other benefits to the gift as well. In addition to being a tax deduction, she was able to get the most out of her gifts. Her charitable life insurance policy enables her to give a much larger gift than if she were to give cash gifts.

Recognizing a good deal when she sees it, she is trying to spread the word. “I tell friends there are lots of ways to support the seminary and maximize the amount of your gifts.”

Now enjoying her retirement, Nancy still feels called to work for the church. She is very active on church committees, Sunday school, and she still is a part of the synod candidacy committee. With her planned gift, Nancy has established a legacy that will put her gifts to work for years to come.

LTSS

Nancy and Don Hyatt

Contact Development