John Rimmer
Giving is a trait one must learn. That’s the conclusion of John Rimmer. And he certainly learned it well based on his efforts through the Hutchinson Community Foundation.
As dedicated to and enthusiastic about Hutchinson as he is, it’s immediately obvious John is not a native. A charming southern drawl gives that away -- even though he “flew the coop” from his Mississippi childhood home over 70 years ago. And it’s the flying part that first introduced him to Kansas, although it certainly wasn’t a direct flight.
After graduating from Millsaps College in 1938, his passion for flying led him into a civilian pilot training program. With World War II escalating, John joined the Army Air Corps in 1941. His assignments took him to five states before finally landing in Kansas -- at a Great Bend B29 bomber command. On the way, John met and married his first wife, Ellen. More about that amazing part of his life later.
Choosing Hutchinson
After his military service, John went to work for a Mississippi bag supplier. He was assigned to its Kansas City office, then asked to work out of either Wichita or Hutchinson. Because of its size and friendliness, the Rimmers opted for Hutchinson
.
Once situated here, John became familiar with a local small bag manufacturer and
ultimately joined Hutchinson Bag Company, later renamed HUBCO. His vision and
leadership spurred growth that quadrupled the company’s production levels.
John purchased controlling interest of HUBCO, in his words, “after educating our three children and finally having the resources to do it.” His highly successful 55-year career with HUBCO is amazing; but no more so than John’s 54 year marriage to the mother of those children, Ellen. They met while he was stationed in Tennessee, and married just in time to spend their honeymoon driving to his new assignment in Kansas. More than a half-century later, that honeymoon ended when Ellen succumbed to cancer in 1998.
Classroom Extra Credit
In 2000, while taking a computer class at Hutchinson Community College, John met a woman who, ironically, also had lost a spouse to cancer after a 54-year marriage. John and his classmate, Bethe, discovered they had even more in common and married in 2001.
Listening to John alternatingly reminisce and philosophize, clues to his motivations
continually emerge. Like this: “Life is given to us to do things for others. That’s the kick I get out of life.” At another point he ommented, “Giving is like exercise, something that should just go along with living. You learn to do it and find it’s fun.” He went on to
suggest: “Start by looking at what you can do for somebody else, for your community. Give to see something happen you’ll be proud of.”
Getting It Done
John is grateful that his estate planning attorney, John Schmidt, introduced him to the Hutchinson Community Foundation. “I don’t want my money wasted...I want it doing things that are meaningful. They have the capabilities to do that so much better.”
He added: “If I were doing it on my own, when I’m no longer here it wouldn’t get done. With the Foundation, I know I can depend on my funds continuing to help in the future.”
The future is very important to John. That’s one of the reasons he chose education as the primary benefactor of his philanthropy. “Nobody can take that away from you,”
he said. John also chose education out of respect for how scholarships helped augment his
part-time jobs and summer work as he earned his degree from Millsaps College.
While John’s endowment provides scholarships at Millsaps as well as at Sterling College, Hutchinson Community College has been his major focus. An early champion of the HCC Presidential Scholarship program, John has continued that support -- now up to 32 annual scholarships -- while also sponsoring a classroom in the Shears Technology Center (in
conjunction with HUBCO).
More to be Done
Actually John has two funds at Hutchinson Community Foundation. In addition to the Scholarship Fund, he established a donor advised fund.
Through his donor advised fund, John has supported many community organizations whose efforts he values. “There’s so much more than needs to be done around the
community, if the Foundation just had more money...more donors,” John encouraged.
The Foundation as Home
“The Community Foundation is a wonderful means for us to accomplish what we want to do -- make gifts,” John reiterated, “You just can’t do it any better yourself. It’s an excellent place to use as a ‘home’. They make it easy to consolidate your efforts.”
Before heading off for his daily coffee confab with buddies, John humbly remarked, “I’m a very ordinary person. If I can do this, just think of what others could do!”
