When you have a piece of commercial property you don't use, and it's grown in value, what do you do with it? If you're John Brunetti '70 and his wife, Rockette, you arrange for it to benefit others when you pass from this life.
"My father died when I was 11," he recalled. "But he bought this commercial property in New Jersey before he passed away. In addition, education was always very important to him; he always wanted me to become a lawyer. He had an 8th grade education, and really never had the chance to become what he could have become. I think he'd be very pleased that this property will provide financial assistance to students at both F&M and my wife Rockette's alma mater."
Brunetti did become a lawyer. He started his academic career at Franklin & Marshall College, on the recommendation of his guidance counselor, because "I was a football player and I didn't want to ride the bench, I wanted to play!"
He was a member of the Lambda Chi fraternity, and remembers — in addition to football and fun — classes "small enough that the professors knew every student." He met Rockette, who was attending Syracuse University, because one of his fraternity brothers was dating a friend of hers who lived on her floor.
After earning his degree in government from F&M and his marriage to Rockette, it was New York Law School at night while working full time for the Legal Aid Society; SMU Law School for a teaching fellowship and LL.M.; and later teaching full time at Vermont Law School and part time at the College of Law at Syracuse University — while running a private practice. His career included stints as state and federal prosecutor, and senate counsel, and more than 22 years serving as judge on the State of New York Supreme Court, from which he retired in 2017 to become judge of the Oneida Indian Nation Court.
Why did the Brunettis decide to gift this property to their undergraduate alma maters as a bequest?
"We decided this property would be a good thing to use for charity," Brunetti said. "It's perfect because of the connection to my father, and his love of education. But it's also important to me to support F&M. I have a lot of fond memories from Franklin & Marshall, and it was an important part of my life. I have lifetime friends I first met when I was a student. And, of course, I met Rockette through one of my fraternity brothers!"
To learn how to craft your own legacy at F&M, or for more information about using property to make your bequest, contact Mary Ann M. Cooke, J.D., '90, at mcooke@fandm.edu or 717-358-4821.