A Lifetime Connection, A Lasting Legacy
Doris Riedweg is something of a community leader in the evolution of Langley health care. After devoting most of her working life to caring for patients at Langley Memorial Hospital (LMH) as a surgical nurse, she co-authored The Hospital on the Hill, the history of LMH from its early days as a cottage hospital in the 1950s.
About eight years ago, she and her husband John renewed their wills, confirming LMH as a beneficiary. It was a natural gesture for someone so connected to the hospital.
“I give to Langley Memorial Hospital because it’s been a really important part of my life,” she says. “Even before I walked through the doors of the cottage hospital the first time, it just became a part of me.”
Early Appreciation
When Doris was in her early 20s, she and her then-boyfriend, who worked as an RCMP officer, often took long drives around the Fraser Valley.
“We’d drive to Hospital Hill, and he’d always draw my attention to the hospital. He’d say ‘that’s the best little hospital in BC and those nurses are the best anywhere.’”
His words still resonate with her today, some seven decades later. At the age of 23, she took her nurses’ training with the sole ambition to work at LMH, she confesses.
“It’s not an exaggeration to say that Langley Memorial Hospital was the reason I began my nurses’ training in the first place.” She launched her career at Langley Memorial, or the ‘cottage hospital,’ in 1956. “And it really was a wonderful place to work.”
After a successful career that cemented her bonds to the community even more, Doris, now 94, became a regular donor to the Iris Mooney scholarship, a financial award named after Iris Mooney, the nurse who supervised Doris and her colleagues at Langley Memorial Hospital in their early career.
There are as many reasons to give in a Will as there are donors. But a legacy gift often appeals to people with a desire to either honour a loved one with a gift in their memory, benefit from tax advantages on the estate, leave a lasting mark on the community or support long-term hospital capital projects and continued excellence in care.
Reach out to Toni Andreola, Donor Advisor for more information on legacy giving, or visit LCHHFoundation.com/legacy-giving for more information.