NYF Invites You to Join Olga’s Lasting Legacy

August is National Make-A-Will Month—a time to envision your lasting legacy.

At NYF, we’ve thought a lot about legacy since we said goodbye to our beloved founder, Olga Murray, in February 2024. Olga was the original member of NYF’s Legacy Circle, setting aside her beautiful Sausalito, California home in her estate plans to ensure her life’s mission could continue long after she was gone.

This year, as we celebrate 35 Years of Transformation in Nepal, we are reflecting on the tremendous impact of Olga’s efforts, and on the ways children served by NYF have become powerful leaders and changemakers in the communities around them.

These incredible alumni are Olga’s legacy in action. But she couldn’t have accomplished all of this alone.

This Make-A-Will Month, NYF’s Board Chair, Chris Heffelfinger, is sharing his family’s story—and inviting you to join him as part of NYF’s Legacy Circle.

Chris Heffelfinger – NYF Board Chair

For Chris, being a member of NYF’s Legacy Circle is a way to honor both Olga and his parents.

“My inspiration for supporting NYF comes not only from our amazing Founder, Olga Murray, who I have known my entire life, but from the commitment and life-long dedication of my parents, Joanne and Totton Heffelfinger,” he says. Totton Heffelfinger, Chris’s father, was one of NYF’s founding board members, and both Totton and Joanne were deeply dedicated to NYF’s mission.

“My parents made NYF an important part of their legacy planning, just as I have done.” Chris hopes that their story will inspire you to include NYF in your own estate planning this Make-A-Will Month.

Joanne & Totton Heffelfinger – Lifelong Changemakers

“Joanne and Totton dedicated their lives to their community and to society at large,” Chris remembers.

The two met at Harvard in the early 1950s. Joanne was admitted to the third class of women at Harvard Law School, and Totton was just finishing up his law degree. They married after Joanne completed her first year, then moved to Washington D.C. for Totton’s new government job. Joanne enrolled at George Washington University to continue law school. It was at George Washington that Joanne met Olga—the beginning of a lifelong friendship.

“Not long following, my parents and Olga found themselves in San Francisco.  As many of you know, Olga spent her career working as a research attorney on the California Supreme Court, helping to pen many cases having a profound impact on the legal landscape in California.”

“My mother worked as a volunteer for many social causes, including the YWCA, the Congress on Racial Equality, the Bird Rescue Center and the Marine Mammal Center, to list only a few.”

“My father worked as an attorney, also as an adjunct professor of law at U.C. Berkely and the University of San Francisco, and as a volunteer in his free time on environmental matters.”

Building a Better Society

What inspired Chris about both Olga and his parents was their deep love for building a better society—and the fact that they did more than talk.

“Many of you know the path Olga took from her love of the children of Nepal to building out the many programs at NYF that are flourishing now.”

“Lesser known, and out of the limelight, is the role that my parents Joanne and Totton took with NYF. My father served as an original board member of NYF.”

In 1993, Olga asked Joanne and Totton to take in two young Nepali girls who were coming to the United States for extensive medical treatment. “Each of these young women, Durga and Bishnu, have authorized me to share their stories in honor of the memory of Joanne and Totton Heffelfinger and members of the broader Heffelfinger family.”

“These two accounts serve as an inspiration to me,” Chris says, “and say so much more about my parents than I ever could.”

Durga T.

Durga came to the United States to receive treatment for severe burns. She arrived at the Heffelfingers’ home in 1993 at the age of 8. She immediately started calling Joanne and Totton “Mom and Dad.” During her time here, Joanne and Totton became her second family.

“They took their roles as brand-new parents in their 60s and 70s seriously to a foreign child with medical needs. They jumped right into parent mode and scheduled countless medical appointments, swimming lessons, math tutor and learning to ride a bike and of course the dreaded – HOOKED ON PHONICS – was squeezed into our daily routine.” 

School holidays were usually taken up by medical appointments and surgeries. Durga went through more than 35 reconstructive surgeries and both Joanne and Totton were there for all of them. 

“They encouraged me to hold my chin up and not to dwell on self-pity,” Durga says fondly. “They took care of my post surgeries including my severe reaction to general anesthesiology. They taught me to value life beyond just oneself. Mom and Dad truly epitomized altruism through their selfless generosity of love and kindness to others. There will never be another Joanne and Totton Heffelfinger, they gave from pure kindness to humanity. I owe them my deepest gratitude.”

Bishnu D.

Bishnu came to the United States for extensive leg surgeries to address a bone issue. She lived with Joanne and Totton from 1993 through early 1996.

During that period, “Mom” and “Dad” took good care of her. Joanne, Totton, and their children visited Bishnu on a daily basis at the hospital after every surgery, and when she was discharged, Joanne arranged a home tutor for her education. During these three years, Bishnu says, “Mom and Dad were busy taking me to the hospital for follow up, or in-patient visits, schooling and outings and so on.”

“Mom and Dad supported my education until I completed my bachelor’s degree. They cared about me like their own children in every possible way they could think of until their last breath. Without their continuous support and love/care physically and virtually, I would not have been where I stand today.  I am so grateful to them throughout my life. Not only that, Mom and Dad have created such environment where their children [Chris’s siblings] and I continue to remain one family.”

Bishnu completed her PhD in 2009. For the last 18 years, she has been working as a consultant for gender and disability issues, nationally, regionally and internationally.

Totton & Joanne’s Legacy

Although Chris and his siblings were all adults by the time Durga and Bishnu arrived, Totton and Joanne’s love for these two girls quickly made them beloved members of the close-knit Heffelfinger family.

Totton Heffelfinger passed away in 2017, at age 89, and Joanne followed one year later, at age 87. After their incredible lifetimes of generosity, love, and efforts to build a better world, they were sure to also include Nepal Youth Foundation in their estate plans.

Like all legacy gifts, the Heffelfinger’s bequests strengthened NYF’s roots—helping our organization continue offering transformative programming even during the unexpected turmoil of the COVID-19 pandemic two years later.

Today, Chris is proudly carrying his parents’ legacy forward in his own life.

“I hope by reading these accounts from Durga and Bishnu, that you are also inspired to continue your support for the many children of Nepal. And this Make-A-Will Month, I hope you are inspired to follow the example of my parents, Olga, and me by making a NYF a part of your legacy giving.”