RE Log Spring 2019

SPRING 2019 Ransom Everglades LOG 59 A Meaningful Life Stamps leaves a legacy of service and benevolence When Penny Stamps died at 74 on Dec. 13, 2018, she left behind countless grateful students, educators, artists and furry friends around the nation whose lives she changed with her kindness and generosity. Many at Ransom Everglades count themselves among her admirers and mourned her passing after a battle with leukemia. Perhaps best known for her family foundation’s Stamps Scholars pro- gram, which in 2018 alone provided scholar- ships to more than 900 students at 40 univer- sities, Stamps also left her mark at Ransom Everglades with her dedicated volunteerism and philanthropy. “Penny Stamps is a role model for anyone who seeks to make a difference in the world,” Head of School Penny Townsend said. “I’ve always been honored to share the same name. She will never be forgotten at Ransom Everglades.” When her daughter Annie Stamps-Ridgeway ’03 enrolled at RE as a sixth grader, Stamps made her first gift to the school. Within two years, she began serving on RE’s advance- ment committee, and soon took over as chair. She served on the steering committee for the school’s centennial campaign, distinguishing herself as one of the lead donors. She pushed for a revitalization of the RE Middle School as well as historic designation for and restoration of the Ransom Cottage at the Upper School. She served as chair of the Ransom Everglades Parents’ Association annual auction, and vice- chair of the board of trustees. “Penny Stamps was a beautiful person, inside and out, but I was always particularly im- pressed by her desire to share her good fortune with others,” said Ellen Moceri, whose tenure as head of school at Ransom Everglades coin- cided with Stamps’ involvement. “For Penny, giving to others and helping improve their lives were at the core of her existence. Her broad- ranging commitment to expanding educational opportunities for all was her special way of ensuring the future of so many young people.” Stamps was so generous during the centennial campaign that two RE Middle School buildings bear her family’s name: The Stamps Family Field and Stamps Family Science Building. “I felt that commitment so profoundly when she and Roe gave the lead gift for the capital campaign to create a much-needed new middle school campus at Ransom Everglades,” Moceri said. “As Ghislain Gouraige, who was chairman of the board when that campaign began, said, ‘Penny Stamps helped take Ransom Everglades to the next level.’” Stamps, who lived in Coconut Grove at the time of her death, earned her bachelor of arts degree from the University of Michigan, an institution she supported throughout her life. The Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design, the only school in Michigan named after a woman, testifies to her generosity. Stamps backed many other causes, including the Miami Humane Society and the Grayvik Animal Care Center (which is named after her favorite cat). She spent 47 years with her beloved husband, Roe Stamps, whom she met in Washington, D.C. She is also survived by her mother Carmella Witt, children Will Stamps and Annie Stamps-Ridgeway, grandchildren Hunter Stamps and Winnie Stamps-Ridgeway.