Trusts for Family Care and Kingdom Impact

From rough and tumble beginnings in Montana and Illinois, Margie and Jay Johnson went on to live out their dreams in lives of faith and adventure, sharing God's gifts in places near and far. Their meeting and marriage in Hollywood, Calif., in the early 1950s, was just the start of 60 remarkable years together.

During those decades, they were involved with the beginnings of Campus Crusade, and Jay invented a revolutionary fiberglass process. The sale of his company provided the opportunity for a new endeavor, and the couple bought a lush 800-acre island in Fiji, where Jay started building the Kaimbu Resort. Margie, meanwhile, had plans of her own.

She finished her bachelor's degree at UCLA, received her pilot's license, and earned both an MA and a PhD in clinical psychology from Fuller Seminary. For six years, she operated her own counseling center near their home in La Cañada, Calif., before selling it and returning to Fiji to help Jay open the resort.

But it was another decision they made that will reverberate in Christian communities for generations to come. The couple had the foresight to open two accounts with The Fuller Foundation: a charitable remainder unitrust and a charitable remainder annuity trust.

These accounts enabled Margie to live out her life on her terms, remaining in her Virginia home after Jay's passing in 2013.

Now, with her passing in late 2023 at the robust age of 92, the remaining principal will benefit a range of organizations important to the couple and their Christian faith. Fuller Seminary received an extraordinary gift of nearly $2.3 million; another $2.5 million was divided among World Vision, Cru, and Prison Fellowship Ministries.

The family's attorney offered thanks to The Fuller Foundation for its long service to Margie and Jay. He noted that "Margie would be overjoyed" to know that Fuller Seminary will receive this sizable amount. He added, "Thank you so much for all the work you did for Jay Johnson and Margie in the years prior to Jay's passing, and especially for Margie in her decade of widowhood.

"Her adamant desire was to be able to remain in her home at Deep Run Farm and complete the days of her life there. Your work provided the financial ability to allow us to surround her with competent and loving care-providers around the clock to do just that."