Stories of Impact

Married for 52 years, John and Francille Firebaugh live a life of adventure. Together they’ve been global travelers, foreign aid officers and devoted cancer research supporters.

After Francille graduated from Cornell University, she relocated to Ohio and worked for The Ohio State University in the field of household economics and research. Always an explorer, she joined the Ohio Hiking Club and met John, where they cherished nature trails together for many years.

John’s work in soil conservation and farming home administration for the U.S. Department of Agriculture allowed them to travel all over the world. In the 70s, John’s job took them to Afghanistan where they worked with a team from USAID on a drainage project. Their time there left a lasting impact, but their stay was cut short due to a communist coup. Instead of returning to the U.S., the Firebaughs journeyed to Nepal, where they decided to live for six months.

As for so many others, the pandemic halted the Firebaughs global sightseeing. They had to cancel their tour of Asia and have yet to reschedule.

Grounded to more local activities, the Firebaughs are long time members of The First Congregation Church of Christ in Columbus, Ohio, and participate in many events there. John also likes to play word puzzles in the newspaper.

The Firebaughs became donors back in 2013. They support many charities and chose AICR because they want to help fight cancer and they like AICR’s message of prevention though diet, nutrition and physical activity. Francille is a 25-year breast cancer survivor, having gone through chemotherapy and radiation treatments. Now, she goes for yearly check-ups and remains cancer-free.

Several years back, John chose to make a Cancer Fighters Charitable Gift Annuity that will provide payments for life for both he and Francille (a two-life annuity). The payments are fixed and will not change with interest rate and market fluctuations. And there are great tax benefits, too. John says, “It’s a reliable investment until you die.” Now that the charitable gift annuity rates have gone up, he has chosen to make a second two-life gift annuity. We are delighted to have such loyal supporters and wise investors helping to make a difference in the fight against cancer.