A Family Built Through Love, a Legacy Built Through Giving
On a spring afternoon in 1966, Wes Storm called his wife, Gladys, after her workday as an elementary teacher was done. They talked for several minutes before Wes casually added, “Oh, by the way, we can go to LSS in Sioux Falls and pick up our son tomorrow.”
And just like that their lives were changed. The next day, they met their son, Shad.
The couple always knew they wanted to have children, and working with LSS of South Dakota they were approved to grow their family through adoption.
“There was no doubt when we looked at him that he was our son,” says Gladys.
Shad joined their family, and the blessings didn’t stop there.
“Wouldn’t you know it, 11 months later we had a daughter, Kara, so we were very busy parents for a couple of years,” adds Gladys with a laugh.
A farm kid from eastern South Dakota and a ranch girl from the Black Hills met at what was then Black Hills Teachers College in Spearfish—and were married for 65 years.
“We had the same fun-loving spirit. We loved to dance and just shared life, the fun things of life. We cared a lot for other people. We both loved children. I grew up always knowing I was going to be a teacher and so did Wes,” Gladys, now 89, remembers. “I can tell you never was there one night that we didn’t say to each other, ‘I love you’ and give each other a kiss goodnight.”
Wes passed away in 2023, but the love that he and Gladys shared continues to reach far beyond their own family.
Faithfully giving since Shad was born, Wes and Gladys became charter members of the LSS Founders Family— the LSS Foundation’s legacy society—in 1996, when they named LSS in their estate plan.
“We felt LSS was very faith-based, just a wonderful organization, and we knew how much a Foundation meant,” says Gladys. “We were sitting in our family room downstairs on the couch, and we just decided to make that decision. And we have never been sorry.”
Then in 2006, the couple chose to fulfill that commitment ahead of schedule, making a generous cash donation to the LSS Foundation that allowed them to witness the impact in their own lifetime.
Theirs wasn’t a gift of abundance; it was about deciding what was important to them. On a teacher’s salary, they worked
out a payment plan and built a legacy.
“The reason we’re here on earth is to help others. That is what we’re here for. What you do for others is the rent you pay for living on this earth,” says Gladys.
LSS was part of the beginning of their family’s story. Decades later, they chose to help ensure LSS could help other families for years to come.
As Gladys says, “True giving always brings back more or as much to the giver as it does to those being given to.”
What matters to you today? What do you want to ensure continues after you are gone?
A gift to the LSS Foundation ensures that LSS not only continues to serve today but also is prepared to meet tomorrow with strength and compassion. A gift in your will is one of the simplest and most meaningful ways to support the future of LSS. To learn more, go to LSSFoundation.LssSD.org.
