The Pride in the Tiger Foundation (PITF) received a generous gift from the James T. Rowe Estate. Bill Paterson, Rowe’s stepson, came to Marshall to present the $188,000 gift that will be split between an already established scholarship endowment and an endowment contribution fund earmarked to support math initiatives in Marshall’s schools.
“Ted taught math for 33 years at Southwest Minnesota State University, and my mom was a teacher in Marshall. They both had such a passion for education, so this gift just exemplifies who they were as people,” said Bill Paterson.
Ted was a community leader in Marshall, starting the Sunrise Rotary Club in 1973 and remained active until recently. Ted received many awards in Rotary and formed lifelong friends. Ted served on the Marshall City Council, the Marshall Utilities Commission, and Marshall Chamber of Commerce. He loved to play Bridge, and he wrote a themed newspaper column entitled “Holding Hands with Ted Rowe” for about 30 years. When playing cards started to wane, he changed to “Oh’ Fiddlesticks,” a general interest column.
Ted was recruited to southwest Minnesota. A 4-year college was starting in Marshall, Minnesota, and in 1969 Ted arrived at Southwest State University. He spent the next 33 years teaching math and other related subjects. Ted also served as Faculty President, the Math/Computer Science Department Chair, Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs, and the Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs. Ted’s legacy includes a high school scholarship with a math emphasis at Marshall High School. In fact, He and Aileen each have a memorial scholarship.
“The Pride in the Tiger Foundation is so grateful for Ted and Aileen’s commitment to Marshall. This generous gift will make a lasting impact supporting our math educators in the classroom and students who wish to pursue math related degrees beyond high school,” said Executive Director Krista Bjella. “The stories behind these gifts are always so rewarding to hear and Ted and Aileen’s story certainly demonstrates how much passion they had for education.”
Pride in the Tiger Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that seeks to provide financial and other support to activities and extraordinary educational programs in Marshall’s public and private schools. It is the Foundations mission to support our children’s personal growth and development in their pursuit of excellence.
Visit Pride in the Tiger Foundation’s website to learn more about their impact on education: HOME – Pride in the Tiger Foundation
