Long-time Bettendorf resident leaves $1 million estate to Community Foundation

She loved watching the Iowa Hawkeyes on Saturday, and eating ice cream on Sunday.

And she loved doing both with her family.

Joanne Updegraff was one of those people who quietly laid a philanthropic legacy, experiencing the joy of giving while she was alive and passing it on to her family upon her passing nearly one year ago. “It was just how she was,” her daughter Lynn Hardt said from her home in Storm Lake, Iowa, where she lives with her husband Henry today.

Now, the Hardts, along with their daughter Marie, will continue Updegraff’s philanthropy through the Updegraff Sutton Family Foundation Fund at the Quad Cities Community Foundation. The endowment fund of $1 million that Updegraff began as an endowed donor advised fund during her lifetime will continue to support nonprofits in the Quad Cities—and beyond.

“I think what is important—what is inspirational—about my mother’s gift is that she gave during her lifetime. She got the benefit of seeing her philanthropy in action,” Lynn Hardt said. “And now I, and our daughter, get to carry that on through her fund. I would encourage others to do what my mother did. Give while you are alive.”

It was important to Updegraff that her family would be involved in carrying on her philanthropic legacy, and through the Community Foundation, the Hardts will be able to do just that. “Community members come to the Community Foundation to help see through their philanthropic wishes, and we’re able to do that in so many different ways,” said Sherry Ristau, president and CEO. “Joanne set up a donor advised endowment fund that empowers us to support Lynn and Henry, and Joanne’s granddaughter Marie, as they carry on her legacy. We are so honored to be part of it.”

Henry Hardt was instrumental in helping Updegraff establish her will, and the donor-advised fund at the Community Foundation, prior to her passing. A Quad Cities resident for much of her adult life, Updegraff was very active in athletics and loved music. She moved to Bettendorf with her husband Dr. Clarence Updegraff, an anesthesiologist, when he began his medical practice. When she had free time, she enjoyed playing golf and tennis, but she also found time to give back to her community.

Joanne Updegraff with her granddaughter, Marie.

“As a child, I watched my parents give back,” Updegraff told the Community Foundation when she established her fund. “As an adult, I credit my parents for modeling philanthropy. I want to benefit my community,” she added.

Because of her love of sports, and her strong support of women participating in athletics, one of Updegraff’s early acts of philanthropy was setting up a scholarship fund at the University of Iowa. It helps provide opportunities for women athletes. “She was a bit of trailblazer in helping to provide financial support for women collegiate athletes,” Lynn Hardt added.

The Hardts plan to continue to support organizations in the Quad Cities that Updegraff supported, and also extend her generosity to their hometown of Storm Lake. “She was always so supportive of the things both myself, and our daughter, participated in. She’d want to continue to support the things we are passionate about as well.”