Growing up in a family fully engaged in Saint Joseph Parish in Oil City, Kathy Eisert attended Saint Joseph Grade School and Saint Joseph High School. “I treasure the Catholic education that I received at these two schools,” she reflects. Pointing out houses dotting the landscape around Saint Joe’s Church where she and her friends lived, her face brightens with a smile as she walks, recalling the close-knit community.
Although many things have changed in Oil City over the years, friends and fond memories abound for Kathy of her formative years there. So much so that she chose to honor the community that means so much to her with a lasting gift for its future.
The Kathryn Eisenman Eisert Endowment in the Catholic Foundation will provide scholarships to students to attend Venango Catholic High School in Oil City. With insight to the financial challenges faced by families who desire a Catholic education for their children, Kathy was careful to describe those she seeks to support with this scholarship funding. The recipients must be students who demonstrate need but did not receive sufficient tuition assistance through school, parish, or diocesan financial aid programs.
Thoughtful in her approach, Kathy’s giving is distinctly personal. Inspired by her cherished adolescent memories and by her desire to give back, Kathy’s legacy gift is a beautiful gesture of gratitude and outreach. “I hope that my gift will allow more students to have the ability to attend a Catholic high school and receive an education such as I was privileged to receive,” she describes.
Kathy moved away from Oil City as a young adult. She met her husband of 60 years, Deacon Marty Eisert, on a blind date arranged by her brother who was living in Erie at the time. It wasn’t long after that Kathy also moved to Erie. She and Deacon Marty embraced family life and Kathy enjoyed fulfilling careers, first in nursing and later in finance. Yet there was always a soft spot for her hometown. Over the years the Eiserts visited Oil City regularly and Kathy has enjoyed attending reunions with her classmates from Saint Joe’s.
Today things are coming full circle as Kathy gives back in a meaningful way to the Oil City community, helping to provide students in her hometown “an education that will serve them spiritually as well as intellectually,” she describes.
Drawing on her financial expertise Kathy explains, “I chose the Catholic Foundation so I can be assured that my contributions will be soundly invested, properly safeguarded, and distributed according to my wishes. In this manner, it is my hope and wish that my endowment will provide a long-lasting benefit to those students in the Oil City area who wish to receive a Catholic education.”
“I chose the Catholic Foundation so I can be assured that my contributions will be soundly invested, properly safeguarded, and distributed according to my wishes.”