In 2015, Tamara “Tammy” Zipser joined the board of the Alf Museum. Zipser her late husband, Robert “Bob”, had been fans of the museum since their children attended The Webb Schools. Dana Zipser Schallheim ’94 and Brian Zipser ’96 made the most of their time at Webb. The connection between Museum Director Emeritus Dr. Don Lofgren and the Zipsers remains quite strong.

“The Zipser family has a 30-year association with the Alf Museum, starting with the involvement of Brian in Peccary Trips, museum classes, and after-school fossil preparation,”  Lofgren said. “As strong supporters of the museum through my entire Webb career, the Zipsers are steadfast attendees of Peccary Society dinners too, both of which I greatly appreciate.”

“Bob loved the annual Peccary Society dinners,” Tammy Zipser recalls.“He always looked forward to the lectures.”

As she learned more about the museum and its commitment to complete a $3 million endowment campaign, Zipser decided to make a gift that would forever combine the legacies of her family and the Alf Museum.

In 2019, Zipser named the Alf Museum a charitable beneficiary of an IRA valued at approximately $275,000. The gift was strategic because Tammy was already using the IRA charitable rollover provision approved by Congress to make her annual gifts. The museum can continue to get annual gifts in this manner and receive any remainder as a bequest. It is a thoughtful strategy that will also provide Dana ’94 and Brian ’96 a possible designation for their current and future giving.

Zipser’s leadership as an ongoing donor and a museum trustee serves as an example to other alumni parents that the bond between Webb and its family members lasts a lifetime.