Eureka College is celebrating a one-million dollar gift on its 159th Founders’ Day. The school announced Thursday its receiving the bequest from the estate of Ronald Reagan’s brother and sister-in-law, J. Neil and Bess Reagan. The gift also came with more than 100 objects and photographs from the collection of Neil and Bess.
The one-million dollar bequest will support the college’s endowment which funds scholarships for students. Neil attended Eureka College and graduated in 1933. He went on to become a senior producer for CBS and Senior Vice President of the advertising agency giant McCann-Erickson. He died in 1996. His wife, Bess, died in 2010.