Harold Howard’s motivation for supporting Hospitals of Regina Foundation, including leaving a legacy gift to the Foundation in his will, can be summed up in one word: Jeanette. Within a few minutes of sitting down with Harold, it’s obvious his late wife Jeanette is the driving force behind his desire to leave a lasting legacy for the community where they met, fell in love, married and built a long, happy life together.
"We married in 1960,” Harold begins. “We spent over 51 years together, supported each other in our working life and enjoyed many years together in retirement. We travelled Canada from coast to coast, played many rounds of golf, and treasured our time together."
Harold and Jeanette made their first gift in support of Regina’s hospitals in 1985; not long after, Harold was hospitalized for weeks due to complications from an infected foot, followed by kidney failure.
“We were on our way out of the (former) Plains Hospital one day and Jeanette told me she wanted to see someone first,” Harold explains.
Next thing I know, she’s handing one of the doctors a cheque for a thousand dollars, which was a lot of money back then, for medical equipment. She made up her mind that we were going to give back, and that was our start with supporting the hospitals.
He was treated for rheumatoid arthritis, lived with a pacemaker for many years, and had both knees and hips replaced.
After that initial gift, the Howards made an annual donation to Hospitals of Regina Foundation in support of Regina’s hospitals. Jeanette passed away in 2012, after an almost three year battle with lung cancer. But her legacy lives on as every donation Harold makes to the Foundation is made in her memory. Alos, he provided bursaries to support nursing students at Saskatchewan Polytechnic.
Before Jeanette passed away, we made the decision to leave a legacy gift in our will,” Harold says. “We wanted to express our thanks for the excellent care we’ve received over the years, and give back so that other people in the community can be helped in the future. This is also my way of keeping her memory alive.
In addition to including a gift to Hospitals of Regina Foundation in his estate planning, Harold also makes sure to recommend leaving a legacy to people he meets at his south Regina seniors’ complex, or out in the community.
I do what I can to encourage others to leave bursaries and legacy gifts,” Harold explains. “If you’re in a position to help others after you’re gone, you should. It’s as simple as that.
“We’re so grateful for the support of Harold and Jeanette and everyone who considers us in their estate planning,” said Dino Sophocleous, president and CEO Hospitals of Regina Foundation. “By making a legacy gift of any size to the Foundation you are helping make better lives for generations to come.”
Harold and Jeanette's story is featured in our Fall 2018 newsletter.
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