Devoted Catholics Leave Gift for the Future of the Church

Jeff and Mary Tunison family

"I wouldn't have gotten through Jeff's death without my faith," Mary Tunison of St. Mark's, Boise, said. She lost her husband Jeff to brain cancer in 2012. They had been married 31 years.

Mary and Jeff both grew up in Boise and graduated from Borah High School. When they were 19 and 20 years old, they married. Although Mary was a cradle Catholic, Jeff didn't come into the Church until 1996. Through his conversion, Mary's faith was renewed, and the two became very active in their parish. Mary volunteered in religious education, and all three of their sons graduated from Bishop Kelly High School.

After years of scraping by, things changed when they decided to commit to tithing. Then in 2000, Jeff founded Title One with other entrepreneurs. He became passionate about giving back to the community, and he and Mary served on their parish's stewardship committee.

Jeff was convinced that the key to success was in relationships, not profits. He modeled his business on the Go Giver by Bob Burg and John David Mann. His motto was a quote from Zig Ziglar: "You will get all you want out of life, if you help enough people get what they want."

Because the Church has made such a difference in their lives, Mary wanted to help ensure that the Church has a strong foundation of priests to foster the faith. She felt the best way to do this was through a planned gift to the Seminarian Endowment Fund in memory of Jeff. "It's important to put God first," she said.