Dahlke estate funds ChemE fellowships

Elinor and Edward Dahlke (31K JPG)

The department lost a good friend this past February with the death of Elinor V. Dahlke, age 84. Elinor was the widow of chemical engineering alumnus Edward J. Dahlke (BS, '37), who passed away in 1979.

In 1988, to honor her late husband, Elinor established the Edward J. Dahlke Fund through the UW Foundation. Edward had a long and rewarding career with Standard Oil Company (later Exxon). As Elinor explained in one of her notes to the department, "When my husband graduated, the depression was still on and jobs were very scarce. But a professor, who must have judged him very capable, recommended him for a position with Standard Oil. He remained with the company through changes in location, war and management. He really enjoyed the positions he held."

Over the years, Elinor made the most of one of Edward's retirement benefits: the Exxon Education Foundation's (and recently, the ExxonMobil Foundation's) generous three-to-one gift-matching program, to make substantial annual gifts to the endowment principal of the fund. By the time of her death, the Dahlke endowment was generating over $15,000 per year in scholarship funds for chemical engineering undergraduate students. Elinor greatly enjoyed helping students to get a start in life, as the department had helped her husband. "I have the good feeling of knowing how this money is of service to others," she wrote. Elinor particularly appreciated the thank-you letters she received from students, including letters from an undergraduate Dahlke Scholarship recipient, now a faculty member in the department, Eric Shusta (BS '94).

Through her will, Elinor committed a large portion of her estate to be added to the Edward J. Dahlke Fund. The balance of her estate will be put in trust for Elinor's niece and eventually the principal of that trust will transfer to the department as well. In addition to undergraduate scholarships, the department plans to offer Dahlke Fellowships to outstanding incoming graduate students with the income derived from this generous bequest.

Thanks to the Dahlkes, we can all have the good feeling of knowing that future generations of chemical engineering students will have the same opportunity to build rewarding lives and careers that they had.