Planned gifts & gifts-in-kind

A fence and a garden. Late 1980s, a quiet residential street, not far from Concordia’s Loyola Campus.

These are the origins of a special friendship that recently culminated in a $150,000 planned gift to the university. The extraordinary bequest from the estate of Laura Krasnodubsky (pictured in her garden), who passed away in 2021 at the age of 103, might never have transpired had her neighbour, a Concordia staffer, not taken an interest in her backyard. 

“Laura and I slowly got to know each other over the fence,” says Stephen Cabilio, MCSc 86, a systems analyst with the Department of Psychology. “We were both private people, but we shared a common interest. It all began with her garden.”

The garden was Krasnodubsky’s passion and sanctuary in retirement from Canadian National Railway, where she worked as a salary analyst, and especially after the death of her husband, Gerard Hebert, in 1993. It was an unusual garden, even by contemporary standards, says Cabilio. 

“Laura did not pursue advanced studies, but she was an avid reader and loved Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring. She was very influenced by that book’s emphasis on environmental conservation.”

When age began to rob her of some autonomy, the childless Krasnodubsky turned to Cabilio to assist with her will.

“Laura wanted to bequeath most of what she had to charity,” he says. “Aware of my long association with Concordia, she suggested the university.”

Cabilio was overwhelmed when he learned just how generous his neighbour’s gift was. When he peers over the fence these days, he wonders what will become of her beloved garden.

“It’s not easy to find someone to care for it as she did,” he says. “I imagine that the new owners will have their own ideas about what a garden is. I will certainly stick up for Laura’s way, if they’re willing to listen.”