She passed away at age 101 on Oct. 17, 2012, leaving a $10.9 million bequest to the place that took her in when she was just a girl. In 1914, at age 3, Dr. Dorothea Ilgen Shaffer moved to the Masonic Children’s Home and lived there with her brother until she graduated from high school.
Her donation will help fund the purchase of daily necessities for the children and paying for their higher education after high school.
“This gift will help youth for many years to come, giving them a chance to pursue opportunities they otherwise wouldn’t have,” Cindy Phillips, executive director of Masonic Village at Elizabethtown, said. “To think, a child who grew up here in 1914 would one day help provide for kids she’ll never meet. It goes to show the impact the children’s home had on Dr. Shaffer’s live and how much she was willing to support our mission.”
Dr. Shaffer earned her bachelor’s degree in design from Syracuse University, her master’s degree from Pennsylvania State University and completed graduate work at Lebanon Valley College, University of Pennsylvania, University of Mexico and at the University of Borgata Columbia in South America. She taught art in the Harrisburg Area School District. Shaffer also participated in many civic organizations and served on various boards, including as honorary trustee for both Messiah College and Syracuse at the time of her death. She was a life member of the Royal Society of Art in London.
A plaque in Shaffer’s memory was installed at the Masonic Children’s Home. It is inscribed with Nelson Mandela’s words, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
The Masonic Children’s Home opened in 1913 and is currently home to 40 school-age children who live in five cottages on the Masonic Village at Elizabethtown campus. All costs are paid through donations for the children’s home and not through government funding.