Frazee Foundation Grant

Finney County Humane Society recipient 

of Frazee Foundation grant

The Finney County Humane Society was recently honored with an estate gift from the Perle and Catherine Frazee Foundation through the Commerce Trust. The $9,000 grant will be used to provide much-needed shelter and kennel updates including toppers for the isolation kennels that house seriously ill animals.

“Catherine was a client of ours and she loved animals, especially dogs,” said Dennis Burns, Commerce Bank Trust vice president and private client advisor. “For many years she and her husband Perle raised and showed Basenji dogs. She loved the companionship that a dog provides to its owner so it only seemed fitting that FCHS receive these funds so it can continue its great work in animal care and getting dogs and cats adopted into permanent homes.”

During their lifetimes, Perle and Catherine enjoyed the opportunities that his successful legal career provided for their family. After graduating from the University of Kansas School of Law, he was elected to serve as county attorney in Grant County. He later opened his own law firm in Syracuse, KS. He also founded Frazee Abstract, a company still operating in Syracuse and Ulysses.

“It’s through the continued generosity of people like the Frazees and others who remember the humane society in their estates, wills and memorials that those gifts allow the shelter to continue to provide quality care in a safe and clean environment to all animals that come through our doors,” said Mark Hinde, FCHS Board president. “We are so grateful for their forward-thinking planning and the board, together with the shelter staff, will work to make sure those dollars are used responsibly to enhance our animals’ lives while they are with us.”

The Frazees always advocated the pursuit of education and to that end established the Perle and Catherine Frazee Law Scholarship at the KU School of Law. Their estate plan, with the Commerce Trust as trustees, also provides many organizations with grants to continue their work in helping others and their communities.