Gifts and Bequest Recognize North Park’s Lasting Influence

Bill Hamann A’57 C’62

“North Park really shaped me, and I think about this often. It’s why I want to support this University,” says Bill Hamann A’57 C’62. An annual donor and North Park Campaign supporter, Bill is now planning to leave a bequest to North Park University as a “gift with no strings. I believe North Park can decide what the best use of those funds will be,” he says.

Throughout his high school and college years, “North Park really shaped me,” says Bill. “I got a good education, which put me in the right direction.” Bill also recalls meeting “a lot of good people, especially the faculty, and they all had a good effect on the decisions I made going forward.”

After graduating from North Park Academy and then North Park College, where he majored in economics, Bill enlisted in the Air Force and entered officer candidate school. He served in Germany and across Europe, which fostered his lifelong love of travel—including visiting China and taking a train across Canada. Bill had a successful 29-year career in sales with 3M. “My territory was Oregon and southern Washington. I was a road warrior, and I liked it,” he says.

Now retired and living in Portland, Oregon, Bill admits to being a “big believer in luck. And I have been very lucky, so I’ve always planned to give away my assets.” He is proud to support North Park as a way to give back for all that he received: “I believe many doors would not have been opened for me without North Park.”