Providing the Means for a Happy, Successful Life

When Jim Roddey ’55 met wife-to-be Elin Campbell ’54 at TCU, he was searching for her roommate and had “dispensed with formalities” by climbing through a dorm room window. Instead, he found Elin unpacking, and asked her out for a Coke. They were married a year later. The rest is Roddey family — and university — history.

Despite the couple’s inauspicious meeting, the bond that they formed 70 years ago has been as long-lasting as the attachment they have with their alma mater. That connection prompted them to make the university part of their estate plans. “We wanted to include TCU because it has been an important part of our lives,” they explain. “We hope our gift will help other TCU students have a chance for happy and successful lives just as we have been blessed.”

Elin and Jim are inaugural members of Legacy 150, a special group of Britain Society members who are committed to establishing a cornerstone for future Horned Frogs through their estate plans. All Legacy 150 members will be counted as supporters of Lead On: A Campaign for TCU, the most ambitious philanthropic campaign in the university’s history, and will be recognized as part of TCU’s sesquicentennial celebration in 2023.

For the Roddeys, the TCU campus of the 1950s was a great place to be. Jim, a track scholarship recipient, says, “I enjoyed my classes and professors, the social life, many new friends and my track career. The most important impact was meeting the girl I would marry and with whom I’d raise two children.”

Elin became interested in TCU because her mother and grandmother were alumnae. “My experience was exciting and stimulating,” Elin says. “I loved TCU: dormitory life, new friends, all the activities and most of all, meeting my future husband.”

Post-graduation, Jim started his career as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps, later becoming a business executive and community leader. He and his family moved 26 times over the years, eventually settling in Pittsburgh.

He attributes much of his success to that unexpected campus encounter many years ago. “Make no mistake, Elin has enabled me to accomplish everything I’ve done that’s been worthwhile in my life,” Jim says. “The real secret for me was choosing the right woman.”

To learn how you can use your estate plan to give TCU students happy, successful lives, please contact TCU Gift Planning at (817) 257-7299 or giftplanning@tcu.edu today.