The Legacy Giving Hall of Fame

The Foundation would like to thank the people who have committed to leaving a legacy for the future.

Jane Leyland French graduated from Fremont High School in 1953; one of just 189 students.  Jane had lots of friends in her English class and was known as the “Brain”. Jane and fellow Fremont High student, Dick French, became high school sweethearts and were married that November.  Dick was quite an athlete, breaking the Track League discus record and co-captaining the FHS Varsity Football Team.  Jane & Dick had one daughter and lived in Sunnyvale until they both passed away in December 2019 and February 2020 respectively.  They truly loved their years at Fremont High School and went to class reunions regularly.

Jane’s bequest, the largest gift we have received to date, kicked off our Legacy Giving program and propelled us to our 20-year goal of reaching the $1-million milestone in our Permanent Endowment Fund, at which time we were able to begin annual distributions. This funding has provided long-term financial stability for our educational programs.  In 2022, the Foundation was able to give more than $400,000 to fund programs. Jane’s bequest also helped purchase a new electronic scoreboard for the historic Fremont High School ootball field, Diesner Field – a fitting project in remembrance of Dick’s student-athlete years.

As Jane always beamed with delight when helping others, we think Jane would be pleased to know that her bequest enabled the first grants from the Endowment Fund, furthering the Foundation’s mission and helping students today & for years to come.