Volume 27 · Number 3 · Spring 2010
Planned Giving: Bob and Barbara Leidigh
Smart investing for the future
(Photo: Karin Higgins/UC Davis)
For Bob and Barbara Leidigh, giving to UC Davis makes sense because this campus is the place where it all happened: the beginning of their lives together, educations that led to rewarding careers and, later, to the winemaking they enjoy in retirement. So when they wanted to invest money in an annuity, they chose one that will provide a lifetime income while at the same time creating a charitable gift annuity that will benefit UC Davis.
Part of their investment will provide future support to defray costs for law students following in their footsteps of public service; the balance will support the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts.
The Leidighs met as freshmen in the fall of 1964 at Homecoming’s Pajamarino. Barbara earned her B.S. in biological sciences in ’68 and Bob received his B.A. in economics the same year. He earned his law degree in ’71; Barbara received an M.A. in zoology in ’69 before obtaining her law degree in ’76.
They share a passion for helping people and pursued careers in public service. Bob was a legal services lawyer, then counsel at the Fair Political Practices Commission, before serving as a California deputy attorney general until his retirement in 2006. Barbara retired in June 2007 from the California Water Resources Control Board, where she specialized in water rights including the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
“UC Davis has given us so much that we wanted to give back to areas that mean a great deal to both of us,” Barbara said. “By structuring our gift to UC Davis in this way, we have the added benefit of a feel-good reward with a tax deduction now, income for life and the remainder goes to good purposes,” added Bob.