Donors

Paul Boley(shown here with Rose Tucker and our first graduating class.)

Honoring lifetime cumulative gifts of $25,000 to $49,999, the Boley Society is named for Paul Boley, the driving force in the establishment of our school.

A Harvard-trained attorney and respected community leader, Mr. Paul Boley dreamed of a small school in Portland where his daughter Barbara Ann (“Babs”) and other deaf children could learn to speak. In 1947, he remodeled a bedroom in his own house into our first classroom and secured financial commitments from local business owners.

As our founder and first president, Mr. Boley inspired those around him to see the impact philanthropy could make in a community, and he knew firsthand that teaching deaf children to speak would benefit them throughout their lives.

Alice Maxon

Honoring lifetime cumulative gifts of $50,000 or more, the Maxon Society is named for Alice Maxon, our first teacher, whose methods inspired the Boleys to build a school.

An accomplished teacher who held the conviction that deaf children could learn to speak, Mrs. Alice Maxon first met our founder, Paul Boley, when he and his wife Margaret enrolled their daughter Babs in the Hosford Public School for Deaf Children preschool program.

Later, when Mr. Boley was establishing a small school focusing on teaching deaf children to speak, he asked her to be its first teacher. The parents of our first five students considered Mrs. Maxon a genius.

Honoring those who include Tucker-Maxon in their estate plans, the Rose and Max Tucker Society is named for our earliest supporters and first benefactors whose generosity ensured the sustainability of our school for years.

At the request of Mr. Paul Boley, Mr. Tucker, president of the Cascades Plywood Corporation, sponsored the school during its earliest years. Mr. Tucker, who had no children of his own, enjoyed being around the students of Maxon Oral School. Mr. Tucker even dressed up as Santa Claus for a 1948 Christmas party and brought gifts for the students.

When Mr. Tucker died, he left behind a generous bequest to the Maxon Oral School. Later, the board persuaded Mrs. Rose Tucker to add Tucker to the school’s name in honor of this beloved benefactor.

Mrs. Rose Tucker remained on our board for years as an enthusiastic supporter of our students. When she died, her bequest helped ensure the long-term financial stability of our school.