Scholarship program gives smiles and much more to appreciative students

The Muchmores were very generous supporters of education.

From a conversation with Harold Kosowsky:

Bob and Bo Muchemore were very happy people. If you knew Bob, you would always say this about him:

“What a great smile.”

You’d say that about Bo, too, although she was more serious.

Bob was born in Maine. He came to Nebraska to attend Creighton University. He earned a degree in business from Creighton and then attended Creighton’s law school. He worked for Mutual of Omaha. That was the only place he ever worked. He worked his way up to head of the legal department.

Bob was a firm believer in buying common stocks. He never invested in bonds. One of the people he liked was Warren Buffett. He invested a lot in Berkshire Hathaway stock, so he did quite well.

Bo was born in Hawaii. She earned her nursing degree in Honolulu. She became head nurse in an emergency room at a hospital in Washington, D.C.

They met on an airplane. After they married, she moved to Omaha.

They were living a good life. They were very social. Both liked to play golf. Unfortunately, Bob died on the golf course, although maybe for him that was a good way to go. He finished a round and then had a heart attack.

Bo died about five years later. They were older when they’d married and didn’t have children. They’d decided to leave their money for education. After they died, I found out that they’d named me as a director on the foundation’s board.

In giving money away, we board members decided to make the scholarships significant in amount so that the Muchemores would be an important memory to the students.

We give money to Creighton University. We give scholarships through the Boys and Girls Clubs. We give money through the University of Nebraska Foundation to go to students at UNL, UNO, UNK and the University of Nebraska College of Law. We give nursing scholarships through UNMC to honor Bo.

Originally these were full-tuition scholarships – about 100 a year. But with the down economy, our value hasn’t increased. We slowly saw a reduced number of scholarships. So now we’ve decided that we’re going to put a dollar limit on them. They’ll be close to the amount of full tuition. They’ll still be significant.

I remember we had a little luncheon for UNO recipients. This one student came with her mother, and the mother was so appreciative. Awhile later, my wife and I were at a restaurant one evening and the woman and her husband came over. They couldn’t thank us enough, as if it had come out of our own pocket.

I told them, “It’s the Muchemores’ gift.'”

Because of these scholarships, people who never met them are very appreciative of Bob and Bo. Every year, even though they’re gone, the Muchemores are still creating great smiles.

Hundreds of students across the four University of Nebraska campuses have received scholarships from the G. Robert Muchemore Foundation, which has awarded more than $2.2 million to students.

Student support is one of the highest priorities of the Campaign for Nebraska. In Nebraska, more than a third of high school students never go to college. Many say that’s because of the cost.

Keeping Nebraska a competitive choice for the best and brightest is key to the state’s economic future. If you’d like to help support such students, contact the University of Nebraska Foundation at info@campaignfornebraska.org or call 800-432-3216 or visit our contact page.