Marlowe leaves a legacy for youth, community
The late sports editor Jack Marlows’s legacy will live forever through his writing for Maquoketa’s community newspaper – and through three endowment funds he planned in his estate through the Community Foundation of Jackson County.
While Marlowe’s passing this fall left the community in mourning, a plan he created during his lifetime to support his community forever is now in motion.
During his 35-year career as a sports editor for the Maquoketa Sentinel-Press, Jack Marlowe wrote more than 2,000 articles covering Maquoketa High School varsity games from 1962 to 1998. “I covered events in sports that people now wouldn’t cover,” Jack told Community Foundation in 2015. “We had a horseshoe pitching league. At one time they even had me submitting little league baseball stories.”
He continued writing for his column, “Sport Slants,” until the summer of 2015, celebrating his community and connecting generations through the common bond of athletics.
Jack applied that same approach to planning his legacy. He cared deeply about the well-being of young people and their futures, so he created a fund to provide scholarships for Maquoketa High School seniors.
He also understood that educators need support from community leaders. That’s why he directed a portion of his estate to an endowment for Maquoketa schools, which will provide an annual payout school leaders can use for resources they need to enrich the student experience and help them succeed.
Jack trusted the Community Foundation to understand local needs and award funding to organizations working on the front lines to meet those needs today, tomorrow and forever. His third endowment will allow the Foundation to direct annual payouts toward emerging needs, making a positive impact on the community forever.
“I wanted to know that when I gave the money away, I could be assured that it was going to go to a good place,” he said. “I have no doubts that arranging a gift through the Foundation was the right decision.”
Even though he received more than 28 media and community awards, including the Distinguished Service Award from the Iowa Newspaper Association in 1999 and a sports complex dedicated in his name at Maquoketa High School, Jack remained humble. “I would never have expected that a farm boy from Maquoketa who did poorly in English would be able to pursue a career in journalism,” he said. “It’s just unbelievable thinking of all the breaks I’ve gotten.”
Per his wishes, Jack’s three endowment funds became active upon his passing this fall. Gifts to endowments are permanently invested and provide annual payouts forever. You can make a gift in his memory that will support our community forever by visiting dbqfoundation.org/cfjc and clicking, “Give now,” or scanning the QR codes below. Gifts of $50 and over may be eligible for the Endow Iowa 25% State Tax Credit.
The Community Foundation of Jackson County offers many opportunities to improve quality of life by addressing an array of local issues. To learn more about how you can establish a fund or make a gift that impacts your community, contact Executive Director Lori Loch at 563-588-2700.