6 Decades After Graduating, Alumna Honors CSC with Gift in Will

Phyllis “Phyl” Birch ’46

Phyllis “Phyl” Birch graduated from Colby Junior College in 1946, keeping in touch through the years via the college’s alumni notes and as a longtime supporter of the Colby-Sawyer Fund. The college only learned of the depth of Phyl’s affection for Colby-Sawyer upon her death in 2013 at the age of 93. CSC was notified that Phyl had chosen to remember Colby-Sawyer in her will with an incredibly generous gift of $400,000.

“I am continually moved by gifts to the college like the wonderful bequest Phyl made,” said planned giving officer Peg Andrews ’85. “When alums like Phyl remember the college in their estate plans, it’s a real testament to how special Colby-Sawyer is, providing a strong education and a firm foundation for life.”

The firm foundation Phyl received led to a long and successful career in business. After graduation, Phyl first worked as an assistant at S. H. Reynolds’ Sons Company in Boston, then as an executive secretary for the Polaroid Corporation in nearby Cambridge. Heeding the siren call to head west, Phyl would spend the rest of her life in the west, first in Los Angeles, then Las Vegas, and eventually Reno, Nevada, where she worked for Bell Telephone until her retirement. She would often summer back east at a place in West Boothbay Harbor, Maine, about three hours from campus.

“We are grateful for Phyl’s hard work and the dedication involved in making such a gift,” Andrews said. “We gratefully honor her desire to give back to ensure that students continue to experience all that Colby-Sawyer offers and that the college remains the special place that alumni like Phyl discovered.”