Doris Alexander: In the Pilot’s Seat for Life’s Big Adventure

Three times a week, you’ll find Doris Alexander at the Santa Monica Airport, taking flying lessons in a single-engine Cessna. Other days, you may spot her practicing ballroom dancing and piano, attending the opera, participating in charity events and hosting friends in her elegant Beverly Hills home.

This is just the latest chapter in what Doris calls “a big adventure” – a life that has spanned two continents, 83 years and a world war. “Now is my time,” she says. “I can concentrate on the people and things that matter.”

That includes giving to causes in which she believes. Doris recently established a Life Estate Gift Annuity, which enables her to give her home to The UCLA Foundation today while retaining its use during her lifetime. She receives a current income tax charitable deduction, as well as a lifetime annuity. For Doris, knowing that the gift of her home will benefit future generations was the critical factor in her decision.

Born in Stuttgart, Germany, she was a young actress and dancer when she met her husband, Milo “Sascha” Alexander, then a refugee from Czechoslovakia, during World War II. At the war’s end, the couple came to the United States – a journey she likens to “going to the moon.” In the mid-1950s, they founded the Alexander Machinery Company in Culver City, which supplied parts and machines for the oil and gas industry. “For a long time, the company was just the two of us, working round-the-clock. It was exciting.”

Her philanthropic interests largely focus on medical research and the arts. However, she has designated her charitable gift annuity to support the highest priority needs as determined by the university. While Doris had no previous ties to UCLA, she’s happily forming them now, looking into campus theater events and seminars. “It gives me a good feeling to know that what I leave behind will be used for something good,” she says, “and I like knowing that now, while I can enjoy it.”