FREDERICK, MD – Jan. 18, 2024: Bruce Wilson created The Bruce and Geraldine Wilson Charitable Fund with The Community Foundation of Frederick County to support close to a dozen organizations including The Delaplaine Arts Center, The Frederick Children’s Chorus, the Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders Association, and Evangelical Reformed United Church of Frederick, where the Wilsons were members.
Bruce created the fund to honor his late wife, Geraldine, and their long careers in education and the arts. Geraldine was an accomplished musician and seasoned performer. After majoring in music education at the University of Michigan, she taught in Michigan and then for many years at Holton Arms School in Bethesda. In retirement, she became a skilled nature photographer and co-founded ArtSpring, an organization promoting local arts in West Virginia where the Wilsons vacationed. Geraldine passed away in 2021. “Gerri did not choose to live with Alzheimer’s Disease in her final years, but she bore it with grace—friendly, appreciative, sweet, and loving to the end,” Bruce said.
“The arts need private philanthropy to survive and thrive,” Bruce said. “This fund will provide gifts that arts and education groups can rely on to budget their continuing programs at the community level. My hope is that our gift will encourage others to make similar gifts to sustain the transformative effect of the arts in their community.”