President Michelle Morales reflects on her friendship with former Board Member Laurence Msall

When I received the news Saturday morning about the passing of Laurence Msall, I was beside myself with grief. He served on the Board of Directors at Woods Fund Chicago for the past nine years, with his term ending this past December. I saw Laurence at our December Board meeting and holiday party, and I remember how sad he was that it was his last Board meeting. After the party, he sent me a text expressing his appreciation for the thank-you gifts we had given him and that serving on the Woods Fund Chicago Board was one of the greatest pleasures of his life. He also shared how proud he was of me and my leadership, which made my night.

Laurence was one of the smartest people I had the pleasure of knowing. He was recognized and respected for his dogged pursuit of accountability. Ensuring that Chicago did right by its residents was his life’s work. Now, some folks know that Laurence drove me nuts sometimes in Board meetings. In his pursuit of transparency, he often asked a series of questions. After reflecting, however, I always came back to his purpose: to ensure that, as a local, private Foundation, we were doing our best to uphold our integrity and principles and to be as transparent and accountable as possible, which is atypical in the philanthropic sector. Laurence was the one who advocated for community members to serve on our Board and for the Foundation to open its Board nomination process, which we are aiming to do this year. He was the biggest champion of the Foundation increasing its payout to 11%, starting in 2023. When the Board was considering this decision toward the end of last year, Laurence stated unequivocally that the role of Woods Fund Chicago is to walk the talk by prioritizing the needs of our grantee partners over the longevity of our corpus.

Incredibly funny and insightful, Laurence was a dreamboat one-on-one. I learned so much about city and state politics from him, and I looked forward to listening to his analysis and concerns. His deep love for our city and state was palpable. He enjoyed sharing stories about growing up in Chicago’s far South Side. Laurence was also incredibly caring. He always asked about my son and family, in general. His unabiding love for his wife Nicola, their children, and broader family was evident, as he spoke fondly and often of them. Among my most treasured memories of Laurence are him taking care of his grandchild while in Zoom meetings. In one meeting, his grandchild even made an appearance on his lap. We all got a kick out of that.

When I was dealing with an ongoing health crisis, Laurence always told me “I love your passion for the Woods Fund, but take care of yourself first. This Foundation will always be here, but you are important to your family.” He consistently asked how he could help me, and he always provided me with the support I needed. I learned from other Board Members that Laurence was my biggest champion.

I am going to miss my friend, whose friendship I was looking forward to deepening. I was also looking forward to listening to his analysis of the upcoming City Council and mayoral elections. All January I kept thinking, “I need to carve out time to see Laurence,” and then life and work got a hold of me. Unfortunately, I did not get the chance to tell him just what a great person he was. The first thing I think about when I think of Laurence is love — love for his family, love for his city, and love for his state. Rest in love, Laurence. Some day we will see each other again, my friend.