Friends, my name is Ann Pino, wife of Dan Olivarez, who passed away from complications of cancer on October 26, 2022. I am asking you to please consider donating to the endowed scholarship I am trying to set up his memory. My goal is that this should be a permanent endowment so that the University of Houston can, for as long as it exists, award this scholarship each year to an older returning student, such as my husband was. No contribution is too small, and if you are able to contribute, thank you. If funds are tight for you right now, your good wishes and prayers that I will meet the required amount for an endowment are sufficient, and I thank you for these as well.

Should I be unable to meet the required minimum amount to endow this scholarship by November 1, 2023, I will ask the University of Houston to create an operating scholarship instead, in which the funds will be used for their intended purpose until exhausted. Either way, your generosity will keep Dan’s memory alive.

Update!!!

First, thank you for your generous donations. But the best news is that a generous donor has put us over the top! The University of Houston currently requires a minimum of $25K to endow a scholarship. I was very close to making this an annualized scholarship until the funds ran out, but no, we actually did it, and I’m meeting with a gifts coordinator on Tuesday, 10/17 to make it an endowment. Further donations are kindly appreciated since they will increase the size of the scholarship, but we did it, thanks to YOU!

I’ll send another email once everything is settled. Your donations have been kept in a separate bank throughout this time so I wouldn’t make a mistake and use them inappropriately.

I’ll circle back with further details, but I just wanted to tell you that you’re the best! They say that someone never really dies until people stop saying their name, but people trying to better their lives will be saying Dan’s name for a long time to come, thanks to YOU.

Thank you, and I’ll be giving a final update once everything is settled and I can tell you when the first winner of the Dan Olivarez Memorial Scholarship will be announced.