Heselton Donation to Benefit Five Local Groups
Cliff Heselton was inspired after reading an article about the Ray and Genny Stephenson Family Fund in the Spring 2007 issue of the Benton County Foundation newsletter, leading him to establish the Cliff Heselton Fund in August. The fund is structured in a manner similar to the Stephenson fund, but the Heselton fund will support the Jackson Street Youth Shelter, Philomath Youth Activities Club, Benton County 4-H, and the Vina Moses Center in equal measure.
Cliff said he has always contributed to these local charitable organizations, and he decided this was a way to ensure that his financial support continues. “I haven’t figured out how to take it with me, so I might as well figure out who to leave it with,” he said, smiling. Only the earnings on Cliff’s investment will be distributed, providing the opportunity for ongoing growth of the fund in perpetuity.
Cliff was raised in Massachusetts along with his two brothers and two sisters. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1952, and then moved to Burbank, California, to work for Lockheed Corporation.
After doing aircraft structural design and materials testing for several years, he moved to Sunnyvale, California – still with Lockheed – to work in the test laboratory for missiles and spacecraft. He gradually worked into program planning and management, and retired from Lockheed in 1985.
Cliff met June in California and they married in 1975. On a trip to Oregon to visit an old friend who was working at Oregon State University, they decided to purchase a piece of property outside Philomath, next door to the friend and his wife. After Cliff retired, he and June moved to Corvallis while their house was being built and moved into their rural home that fall.
June died in 1991.
Cliff lives a quiet life, enjoying the outdoors and spending considerable time caring for his five acres. Over the years, he has experimented with planting numerous trees to see which species will grow the best.
He belongs to the Corvallis Men’s Garden Club, the Nature Conservancy, and the Greenbelt Land Trust. He is also an avid reader.
In April 2008 Mr. Heselton requested that a fifth organization be added to the list of organizations benefitting from his fund. The board of directors of the Benton County Foundation approved his request on May 8, 2008 adding the Philomath Scout Lodge, Inc. as an equal recipient agency continuing Mr. Heselton’s desire to futher aid the children of Benton County.