"Lorraine always felt that an education was very important," said trustee Theresa A. Sugar Scanlon. "Through her endowment to the college, she is continuing her legacy and is carrying her beliefs into the future."

Her $7.5 million estate gift to SUNY Oswego -- the largest in the college's 154-year history -- has been invested to establish the Lorraine E. and Nunzio "Nick" C. Marano Endowment, which will be used to fund scholarships for students with financial need, especially those who are first-generation college students. The endowment is expected to yield at least $300,000 annually in perpetuity to support students. The college expects to select the first recipients of the scholarships in 2016-17 academic year for use in the 2017-18 year.

"This college will forever remember the generosity of Lorraine Marano and her strong conviction in the power of education," SUNY Oswego President Deborah F. Stanley said. "These scholarships will keep college within reach for many of our students, and in turn, those graduates will thrive through the knowledge and perspectives gained here that will inform their work, their communities and their personal lives. Lorraine will live on through the successes and contributions that each of the students make."

In her life, Lorraine Marano said she admired SUNY Oswego because of higher education's ability to transform an individual's life. She was a highly educated woman, having graduated from Glassboro State College (now Rowan University in Glassboro, N.J.) with a bachelor's degree, Drexel University with a master's degree and the accelerated paralegal program at Syracuse University.

The late Lorraine and Nunzio "Nick" Marano had a prosperous agricultural business located on a muck farm in Scriba. A Scriba native, Nick owned Marano Vacuum Cooling and Sales Inc. in his hometown and held a seat on the New York Mercantile Exchange until his death in 2002.