Isabella McIntyre Tobin, 94: Spelman benefactor

Isabella Tobin said it often: If you graduated from Spelman College, you needed to give back.

Pay it forward, she'd say.

Help other students experience the joy and pride of earning a degree from the historic black women's college.

For decades, she set a worthy example. According to the Spelman Messenger, a school publication, donations to her alma mater exceed that of any other living alumna.

In 1945, the New York native graduated from the school with a bachelor's degree in sociology. Two years later, she earned a master's degree in social work from Atlanta University. Soon after earning that first degree, she started her support of the school.  Donations were part of her yearly personal budget.

In a 2000 cover story in the Spelman Messenger, she talked, humbly, about her philanthropy. She acknowledged that she'd been able to do more than many because she and her husband, the late Rev. Dr. Lucius Miles Tobin, were childless.

"It's important to support the school that has given us so much," she said at the time. "Giving is like anything else; you have to be taught, and we have to start with our children. I always saved a little, no matter how much I was making."

Spelman officials have never disclosed the dollar amount of Mrs. Tobin's contributions. Suffice it to say that it is huge, said the Rev. Dr. Harry S. Wright Sr. of Bennettsville, S.C.

His family's relationship with the Tobins stretches decades, to when he was 9 years old. Mrs. Tobin's husband preached several times at his father's church in South Carolina. And when Mr. Wright enrolled at Morehouse College in 1950, the Tobins were like his parents. Mr. Tobin taught philosophy and religion at Morehouse and Spelman from 1944 to 1969.

"First, they were deeply intertwined with the Atlanta University system," Mr. Wright said. "They had that spirit of commitment to higher education. Isabella was the most generous benefactor. Tops the list."

On Jan. 13, Isabella McIntyre Tobin died of natural causes at Summerset Assisted Living Center in Atlanta. She was 94. A memorial service was held Tuesday in Spelman's Sisters Chapel. Burial will be 10 a.m. Wednesday at Westview Abby. Grisson-Clark Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

In 1915, Mrs. Tobin was born in Rochester, New York. She started undergrad studies at New York University, then transferred to Spelman. After earning her master's degree, she taught sixth-grade in the Atlanta public school system. Her decades-long education career concluded with a nearly 20-year stint as a guidance counselor at Turner High.

Providence Missionary Baptist Church was where she worshiped. Her husband led the congregation for a decade. The Rev. Gerald L. Durley currently serves as senior pastor. He said Mrs. Tobin's message was clear and concrete when it came to the education of women: Uplift the masses.

"She was a trainer of black women, though she didn't consider herself a feminist," he said. "She was an educator who uplifted all people, not just those at her alma mater."

Besides money, Mrs. Tobin also gave of her time. She regularly attended class reunions and other campus events. She also received Spelman's "Spirit Award" in 1999.

Some may wonder how Mrs. Tobin was able to be so philanthropic given an educator's salary.

"I never cared much for conspicuous consumption," she said in the Spelman article. "I drove VWs for the longest -- paid cash each time and didn't have any car note. I also never had a mink coat, though all my friends did."