heckendorn
News Releases
11/20/08
LAWRENCE — A $200,000 bequest from 1950 University of Kansas alumnus Frank Heckendorn honors a longtime KU professor and will benefit generations of KU women who study voice.
Heckendorn, who died in November 2007, made estate plans to benefit the Irene Peabody Scholarship for women studying voice. Peabody, a 1923 KU alumna (bachelor’s in music) and a former professor of Heckendorn’s, taught vocal music at KU from 1926 to 1970. The Irene Peabody Scholarship was established in 1988 with a gift from her estate.
After Heckendorn, who grew up in Chase County, Kan., earned his bachelor’s degree in music education at KU, he moved to New York City. He later moved to San Francisco where he worked for years for Bank of America.
The Irene Peabody Scholarship has helped scores of KU women students. One of the students receiving Peabody scholarships this semester expressed her gratitude: “It definitely makes the difference for me, particularly in affording my doctoral program here at KU,” said Andrea Garritano Freeze, who is in her third semester of pursuing a doctoral of musical arts in vocal performance.
Freeze works hard to combine education with her career. Three days a week she commutes to classes at KU from her home in Emporia. The other two days, and on the evenings of the days she commutes, she teaches voice and music appreciation at Emporia State University. She also sings professionally. In October she performed at the Hudson Opera Theatre in New York, singing the soprano role of Violetta in La Triviata.
Freeze said she was impressed that more than half a century after graduating from KU, Heckendorn remembered the university and a former professor in his will.
“In retrospect, when people are at the ends of their lives they look back and think about what was important to them,” Freeze said. “He must have found his love for music at KU and realized that he had a very meaningful experience here. He moved on to another life, but KU obviously meant a lot to him.”
Heckendorn’s longtime friend, Ed Loughrey, of San Francisco, described his late friend as “absolutely honest with a soul of integrity.” Heckendorn always appreciated the education he received at KU. “The University of Kansas meant a great deal to him,” Loughrey said. “He never forgot his ties with KU.”
The fund is managed by KU Endowment, the independent, nonprofit organization serving as the official fundraising and fund-management foundation for KU. Founded in 1891, KU Endowment is the first foundation of its kind at a U.S. public university.
Return to News Releases