TRAVERSE CITY — A civic-minded couple who prized openness and curiosity left a large gift to the National Writers Series after their passing.
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Bob Giles and psychologist Dr. Nancy Giles made a $75,000 bequest to NWS — the largest single donation in the nonprofit organization’s history, according to a statement.
“It’s really humbling to have Bob and Nancy remember NWS in such a significant way,” NWS Executive Director Anne Stanton said, and called the gift a “wonderful surprise.”
Bob Giles was a member of the NWS board and expanded its Raising Writers creative writing program for young people where his “wisdom and creativity were steadying influences” before his death last summer. Nancy, who died in 2021, was also an avid volunteer at American Red Cross, the Junior League and probate court.
The couple retired to the area after their successful, respective careers.
NWS established a named series in the couple’s honor: the Bob and Nancy Giles “Truth Matters” Author Conversations.