James and Sumiko

For James and Sumiko, giving a gift of real estate to Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital became an important part of living the American dream.

[More about James and Sumiko]

It was the coconut cream pie that hooked her. When she was a young girl, Ressa’s mother would drive her to San Mateo to enjoy lunch and a slice of pie at the Garden Café. The restaurant was run by the San Mateo-Burlingame Auxiliary, one of the seven volunteer auxiliaries that help Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital. Ressa was so impressed by the hard work and dedication of the loyal volunteers that she and her mother returned weekly for about 20 years.

[More about Ressa and Marvin]

As one of the first computer programmers for IBM, Florence understands the importance of innovation.

In 1973, IBM transferred Florence from New York City to Los Altos, Calif. Although she sometimes missed the hustle and bustle of New York, she soon came to love her new home and all it had to offer, including the Children’s Hospital at Stanford, the predecessor to Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital.

Florence and her late husband, Leon, began giving annually to the Hospital in 1974. They valued Packard for its novel approach to pediatric care and research, and believed that every child in the community should have equal access to its resources.

Eventually, Leon suggested setting aside part of their estate to benefit the Children’s Hospital. “It was my husband’s suggestion and I liked it immediately,” Florence says. They contacted their attorney and designated a significant portion of their estate to Packard.

[More about Leon and Florence]

On Feb. 9, Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital lost one of its most faithful supporters. Elizabeth died at 93, having lived much of her life in the Bay Area raising three children with her late husband Marcus Stedman, an architect who designed many homes in the Bay Area. Elizabeth’s commitment to children’s health at Stanford began forming in the 1940s, when she and Marcus befriended David and Lucile Packard. During the following decade, she joined Lucile, Flora Hewlett, and a dozen other young mothers to create an investment club, known as “The High Finance Club.” Ten dollars went into the kitty each month. While that may not sound like much, the friends often took their husbands on vacations funded with the profits.

[More about Elizabeth]