Heidi Coutu ’79 and John Maturo

Perpetuating their spirit, and Mount Holyoke education, with a bequest

“There I was, a girl from South Hadley, Massachusetts, holding a crucible of molten bronze,” recalls Heidi Coutu ’79, an art studio major and assistant for sculpture classes. Like the heat that can fuse metal into art, Heidi’s Mount Holyoke education was “transformational.”

Heidi, an officer for the class of 1979, has spent decades as a working artist and is committed to helping today’s students access outstanding education. She and her husband, John Maturo, designated a percentage of their trust to Mount Holyoke’s Department of Art Studio. “I’m so pleased to make this bequest with Heidi,” says John, “because I really believe in Mount Holyoke’s mission.” John grew up in a working-class family, earned a scholarship to Yale University and spent his career as a Navy JAG officer and business executive. He calls education his “catapult to a meaningful career” and regards Mount Holyoke as “this mythical institution where the brightest women went.”

In midlife, John met one of those bright women — Heidi — on a flight from Chicago, Illinois, to Hartford, Connecticut. After marrying and forming a blended family, they crafted financial and estate plans to support their retirement and, in time, to care for the people and institutions they love. “These plans give us great peace of mind,” explains John, “and now we can celebrate by doing the things we love in our semiretirement, like traveling and sailing.” Heidi agrees but notes happily, “I’ll never fully retire. Art isn’t just what I do — it’s who I am.”

Heidi grew up just a mile from campus in South Hadley. When she was 9 years old, her father, Fernand Willemain, who was also an artist, suffered a debilitating heart attack. Her mother, Edna Willemain, began working in catering at Mount Holyoke to support the family. Edna was beloved at the College and excelled in her work. The campus became Heidi’s second home and a place that stoked her curiosity. At her high school guidance counselor’s urging, she applied to Mount Holyoke, was accepted with financial aid and embarked on four formative years. “I graduated with a solid art background,” she says, “but moreover, I was an entrepreneur — and fearless because I’d been in classrooms that empowered women.” John says attending Mount Holyoke was equally life-changing for their daughter, Alexandra Coutu ’11, helping her “blossom into a critical thinker, equal to any challenge.”

Heidi and John’s bequest will establish the Edna Willemain, Heidi Coutu ’79 and Alexandra Coutu ’11 Art Fund in the Department of Art Studio to support the teaching of studio art. “When I saw our names together,” says Heidi, “the tears flowed because it was all coming full circle.”

With their fiftieth Reunion approaching, the class of 1979 remains connected across time, geography and varied careers. “No matter where life has taken us, we all endured the good and the difficult at Mount Holyoke and learned to become our best selves,” says Heidi. It’s an experience that mirrors John’s own education and one he feels is particularly crucial for women as they learn to use their voices. Both are excited to witness the College grow in academic excellence and global leadership and know they’re part of it through their bequest. “Supporting an institution like Mount Holyoke is a perpetuation of your spirit,” says John.

“I’m grateful to nurture this place,” says Heidi, “where women from around the world can flourish and develop that fearlessness that is part of Mount Holyoke.”