Margaret's Legacy

In 2012, Columbus House learned of the passing of one of our longtime supporters, Margaret Allman, of New Haven. Margaret attended Hill House High School and then went on to earn a Bachelor’s Degree in Science at Albertus Magnus, a Masters at Yale School of Nursing and yet another Masters at the University of California, Berkeley. She worked at Fort Monmouth, NJ as a laboratory assistant during World War II in the Signal Corps.

She was Assistant Professor and Chairman of the Medical-Surgical Nursing Department of the University of Bridgeport College of Nursing and was elected to the Board of Trustees of Albertus Magnus College.

She taught at the Southern Connecticut State University School of Nursing since its inception in 1972 up until her retirement.

Margaret was a socially conscious woman with numerous interests. She traveled extensively as a faculty advisor to foreign nursing students from developing countries under a World Health Organization fellowship. She also enjoyed taking the Metro North into New York City.

Dedicating herself to others throughout her lifetime, it was no surprise that Margaret bequeathed her assets to various universities and charitable organizations. What was a surprise was the amount that she left to Columbus House. We received the proceeds of her bequest to tally over $337,000.

We are humbled and extremely grateful for Margaret’s incredibly generous legacy to Columbus House. The funds were used to support the “The Solutions Fund,” a $500,000 fund to support Columbus House’s efforts to move quickly on new housing opportunities and new program development.

We hope Margaret’s gift will inspire others to consider a bequest or an outright gift to Columbus House so that together, we may one day realize our goal of ending homelessness.

If you are interested in learning more, please contact our Chief Development Officer, Sarah Hoffman, at (203) 401-4400 ext. 116.