Meet Our Donors

Thelma Mrazek

Thelma Mrazek is waiting outside the Concert Hall after a National Symphony Orchestra rehearsal on a winter afternoon, reading a copy of the Washington Post. The scene is fitting for a woman who's worked for Congress, the United Nations, Time Life, and the Johnson administration—while holding fast to music all her life.

Thelma's love of the arts began at a young age in Jacksonville, Florida, inspired and encouraged by two musical aunts. She was an avid radio listener and later joined vocal groups at her alma mater, Duke University. After graduation, she made her way up the East Coast: first working on Capitol Hill, then earning her master's degree at the University of Pennsylvania, before moving on to the United Nations and Time Life in New York, where she frequently enjoyed performances by the New York Philharmonic.

After traveling the world, Thelma and her husband, Colonel James Mrazek, settled in Bethesda, Maryland, where she served as a writer and editor, with a portion of her work including reports on how to improve the police, courts, and corrections systems for President Johnson's Commission on the Administration of Justice.

A Kennedy Center Member since 1984, she's been thrilled by every performance she's seen from the National Symphony Orchestra. "While everything has been a terrific experience, I especially loved Maestro [Mstislav] Rostropovich. I'm fond of the NSO Pops, and I enjoy taking guests to the Millennium Stage."

That personal connection to the Kennedy Center, and her lifelong appreciation for the arts, is what led Thelma to establish a charitable gift annuity with the Center in 2019. With her heirs and beneficiaries taken care of, "I decided to go with an annuity to Duke and one to the Kennedy Center. I want to inspire younger audiences to enjoy the orchestra. I like that the Kennedy Center is doing more in the arts, and I want to continue supporting the Center in a variety of art forms, but I also want to ensure that heritage, that commitment to the classics, continues."

For those who are considering making a gift annuity but need a last little push, Thelma advises, "With the tax deductions and guaranteed lifetime income, there are benefits on both sides: personal benefits and benefits to the arts. Gift annuities keep those alive and well."

Now retired, Thelma keeps music in her life by performing with a choir when possible. Whether she's on stage or in the audience, her commitment to the arts is one of the strongest threads running through her remarkable life.