The Ginkgo Society: A heart for community, a lifetime of giving

Jan Bohlander has spent her life turning everyday moments into opportunities to connect people. Whether in classrooms, at Friends Fellowship Community, or in her daughter’s downtown Centerville shops, she’s known for getting involved and bringing people together.

That spirit of service was shared by her late husband, Richard “Dick” Bohlander, and became a guiding principle for their family to support the community by giving back.

Today, Bohlander continues that legacy through her involvement with the Reid Health Foundation’s Ginkgo Society, which honors individuals who support Reid Health through planned giving. Named after the resilient Ginkgo tree that has stood on the Reid Health campus since 1905, the society recognizes donors whose generosity creates a lasting legacy of care for future generations.

“The gift is about the health and the well-being of the community, not recognition,” Bohlander said. “Reid has always been very good to us and I believe in it.”

Jan and Dick Bohlander began supporting Reid Health more than 40 years ago with their first gift in 1982. In 2008, they established a charitable gift annuity through Reid Health Foundation, continuing a lifelong commitment to the community they called home.

Though Dick passed away in August 2021, the couple established a family tradition centered on community involvement and giving for the health and well-being of their neighbors.

The most recent gift is through an annuity contributing to where the need is greatest.

“I hope the Ginkgo Society encourages people,” Bohlander said. “As a donation through an annuity, it’s been a tax benefit and also a benefit to me as a way to enhance my retirement income. If I need it, it’s there.”

Their giving stems from the care the couple received through Reid Health, including during Dick’s treatment for cancer in his jaw. Though much of his care took place in Indianapolis, the Bohlanders appreciated the compassion they experienced at Reid and the support of their longtime physician, the now-retired Dr. Robert Bode.

Angela Cline, Director of Reid Health Foundation, said the Bohlanders have spent decades investing in this community through education, service, leadership, and philanthropy.

“Their generosity through the Ginkgo Society reflects the same compassion and commitment they showed throughout their lives,” Cline said.

Born and raised in Richmond, Jan graduated from Richmond High School before attending Hanover College, where she met Dick, a Connersville native. The couple married in 1959 and settled in Centerville in 1962, where they raised their daughter, Mindy (Bohlander) Myers.

Both Jan and Dick became well-known in the Centerville school system. Jan taught English and Spanish before becoming a learning disabilities teacher and later a special education administrator, while Dick worked as a teacher before serving as a junior high principal.

Their commitment to students extended beyond the classroom.

“Dick was known for clipping articles and sending them to kids to let them know how proud he was of them and to say, ‘Look at how well you’re doing,’” Cline said. “Many still have them today as adults.”

One of his notes is now featured on the containers at Mr. B’s Chicken Salad, a business Mindy and her husband, John Myers, started in his memory, with the logo carrying his caricature.

After retiring in 1996, the Bohlanders remained active in church life, camping, and community engagement. At Friends Fellowship Community, Dick served as chairman of the Resident Association, while Jan now serves as its co-chair, as well as a Resident Ambassador on the newly formed New Residents Welcoming Committee, and member of the Library Committee.

Jan also created after-dinner activities for residents to encourage engagement. Her programs included games and theme nights such as homemade Jeopardy, a “Burma-Shave Challenge,” “Halloween Style Shows,” and a Valentine’s Day-themed “Kazoo That Tune.”

“I saw a need for residents,” she said. “After dinner, maybe a few of them would sit and chat, so I introduced little fun games. The residents were excited, and it gave them something to look forward to.”

One of her favorite projects was in June 2024, and the last she organized. A Toy Program she created with friend Elizabeth Holmes brought together more than 80 residents to share antique toys and memories.

Beyond Friends Fellowship, Bohlander helps the Myers with two downtown Centerville businesses.

She once helped prepared the chicken salad at Mr. B’s, but now she’s at Bibbly Boo Toy & Candy Shoppe where she wraps gifts for the birthday castle, greets customers, prepares treat bags for birthday parties, and prices new inventory. She jokingly calls it her “day job” three days a week.

The Bohlanders always believed in the power of community. That belief continues through Reid Health Foundation and the Ginkgo Society, where their generosity reflects a lifelong commitment to care and connection.

Even now, Bohlander remains focused on what comes next — the next activity, the next project, the next opportunity to bring people together.

“I wanted to make sure I gave back,” she said. “The whole idea for Dick, me, and Mindy is to give back to your community.”