Planned Giving

Gift to the Museum from Bonnie and Leland Cofer

The Museums of Western Colorado recently received a nice donation from Bonnie J. and Leland E. Cofer’s Trust. This is a nice gift and we very much wanted to share the news of the donation with the MWC members.

Leland moved to Grand Junction in 1923 with his family when he was two-years old. He grew up on an Orchard Mesa farm, went to Lincoln Elementary and graduated from Grand Junction High School before going into the Army during World War II (where he rose to the rank of Captain and was awarded a Silver Star, two Bronze Stars, and five Battle Stars). He returned to Grand Junction in 1954 with an engineering degree and a new wife, Bonnie Wolfe. He worked with Corn Construction for a time before opening his own business in 1961, Varulco Construction. Bonnie was the office manager for the business. They retired in 1989. Bonnie passed away in 2005 and Leland in 2017.

We very much appreciate the Cofers remembering the Museum in their will. As dictated by the MWC’s Gift Policy, a portion went into the MWC’s Investment Account. Meanwhile, a portion of the remainder will help with some timely (and unforeseen) repairs at Cross Orchards. The Cofer donation came at a very opportune moment. This kind of gift helps the Museum significantly in making improvements that we could not have done otherwise. 

We would be very appreciative if you would consider the MWC when the developing your own estate plan. If you do name the MWC as a beneficiary, we would love to know so that we can thank you.

If you have any questions about Planned Giving, please don’t hesitate to ask.

Peter Booth, Executive Director, pbooth@westcomuseum.org