A couple who wintered in Florida and spent their summers at Lake Panorama left behind a legacy that will have a lasting impact on six Panora groups, plus some students attending Drake University.
James and Joyce McLuen both died in 2016. The McLuens were some of the first homesteaders at Lake Panorama. Their home was located near Sunset Beach, and they enjoyed boating, fishing and golfing.
In April, it was announced seven groups would receive bequests from the McLuen estate. Those bequests were received August 23, as checks were presented at the Bump & Bump law office in Panora. William Bump was the McLuen estate executor.
On hand to help present the estate gifts were Dru McLuen of Indianola, Jim’s sister-in-law, and her two sons, Steve and Eric. They shook hands and chatted with check recipients, asking about plans for the gifts and saying they were pleased Jim and Joyce could be so generous.
Also assisting with the check presentations was Dave Grove, an Edward Jones financial advisor in Panora, who helped managed the McLuen estate.
The largest gift, 30 percent of the estate, went to the Drake University College of Pharmacy for student scholarships. John Smith, Drake University’s vice president of university advancement, traveled to Panora to receive a check for $710,550.
“I was overwhelmed by the demonstration of philanthropy from the McLuens,” Smith said. “To see so many beneficiaries of their generosity is a true testament of a life well lived.”
Twenty percent of the estate was directed to Friends of Lake Panorama, a 501(c)3 nonprofit charity dedicated to improving recreational amenities at Lake Panorama. Members of the Friends board were presented a check for $473,700. The gift will be used as stated in the McLuen will, for the “upkeep, beautification or expansion” of the Panorama West golf course.
Both the Panora Library Foundation and the Panora United Methodist Church received 15 percent of the estate, and were presented checks in the amount of $355,275.
Ten percent of the estate, which was more than $236,000, went to Panora P.E.T.S.
The Panora Volunteer Fire Department and Panora EMS each received five percent of the McLuen estate, and accepted checks in the amount of $118,425.
Joyce McLuen attended Drake University in the early 1950s, then worked for the Department of Natural Resources in the state fish hatchery.
Jim McLuen was a graduate of Drake University College of Pharmacy. He served in the United States Army and in 1958 went to work for Burkey Drug in Indianola. He purchased the business in 1966 and renamed it McLuen Drug. He retired when he sold the business to his brother Ed.
Joyce passed away April 19, 2016, in Sarasota, Florida. Following her death, Jim returned to Indianola and passed away November 21, 2016. Inurnment of their cremains was May 16 at the Iowa Veterans Cemetery near Van Meter.