Talk to Us
Over a century of community members have turned their love stories into lifesaving legacies for Baystate Health – creating meaningful and lasting tributes that celebrate a loved one, a cause they are passionate about, a family legacy, or more. Whether you want to share your story to inspire others, like these donors, or you prefer to share your story one-on-one with us and remain anonymous, we are here for you – excited to connect with you and happy to help create a meaningful and lasting tribute. Read below to see how some of our donors carry on their love story for generations to come by creating a charitable gift through their estate plan.
A Legacy of Care for Children
Not Forgotten: A Legacy of Love Celebrating a Life Dedicated to Mending Broken Hearts
Dr. Jesse Hafer was the “heart” of Baystate Health’s Cardiology Division. A respected cardiologist at Baystate Medical Center for more than 30 years, Dr. Hafer built a loyal following amount the thousands of patients he cared for over the years.
Giving Blood, Giving Hope: Blood Donor Creates Gift for the Future
Meet Donna Feng, our newest Legacy Society member and longtime blood donor at Baystate Medical Center. Donna recently updated her estate plans to include a legacy gift to support Baystate Health’s Medical Transfusion Program.
CELEBRATING LOVE AND LEGACY WITH THE ANTHONY P. LOVELL, MD MEMORIAL ENDOWED AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE
Established in 2018, The Lovell Award supports a graduating medical student from UMass Chan Medical School-Baystate who enters a Baystate Health residency program, with a preference for a student entering internal medicine or a residency related to primary care. This award is funded by a grant from the Lovell family.
Ensuring the Future of Healthcare: A Bequest Gift from Paul Cohen
“To use the words of Lou Gehrig, I feel like I’m the luckiest person on Earth,” shares Paul Cohen, co-founder and chief financial officer of Planned Furniture Promotions.
What Matters Most: Retired Baystate Leader Carries on his Legacy with an Endowed Gift
Like many of us during the pandemic, Dr. Benjamin Liptzin found himself pondering his legacy and thinking about what matters most.
An Abiding Love and a Gift of Gratitude: Donors’ Gift Supports Hospice Care
Nancy Sbrega spent 63 years married to the love of her life, Louis, known to those around him as “Gino.” The couple met rollerskating at the Winter Palace in Holyoke when Nancy was 15.
Milestone Gift Advances Women’s Healthcare: Ron and Millie Burkman Establish First Named Endowed Chair for Baystate Health
Former Longmeadow resident and Baystate Health Foundation Legacy Society member Dr. Ronald T. Burkman loves to share stories about fishing trips with his former colleagues at Baystate Health, or to talk about the latest University of Michigan basketball or hockey game.
Father and Son, Doctor to Doctor: a Conversation on Legacy
For the Broder family, a life of fulfillment seems to have a common thread that weaves through each generation – healthcare. Specifically for Dr. Martin Broder and Dr. Samuel Broder, that thread led them both to Baystate Medical Center.
Visionary Gift Honors Wife and Hospital
When Robert Collins was growing up in Three Rivers, Massachusetts during the Depression, he and his brothers would go hunting to ensure they did not go hungry.
Baystate Health Team Supported by Bequest Gifts
When Robert A. Shanley set up his trust decades ago, he never envisioned anything like the coronavirus pandemic.
Nurse’s Gift Fights COVID-19 and Provides a Sustaining Legacy
Barbara Zygarowski loved Baystate Health, loved medicine, and loved her career as a nurse. Her good friend Paul Grennon confesses that he bought and read medical books so he could keep up with her in conversation – she was that passionate about her chosen career.
CELEBRATING LOVE, AND A CAREER
In her final months of life, Aroxy Zacarian thought about what mattered most to her — four beautiful and accomplished children, nine wonderful grandchildren, one great-grandson, three siblings, and a dear husband of 51 years, Dr. Setrag A. Zacarian.
BARBARA CLARKE WAS PASSIONATE ABOUT HELPING WOMEN
Barbara Clarke's husband, Arthur H. Clarke, ensured her values would be remembered by future generations by including a tribute gift to Baystate Health Foundation in his will to establish a permanent, living legacy, the Barbara M. Clarke Memorial Fund.
'WE DIDN'T WANT ANYONE ELSE TO GO THROUGH THAT'
In 1989, when Bob Regnault had to undergo coronary bypass surgery, he worried about his wife, Frances, sitting scared and nervous in the waiting room.
THANKS FOR THE LOVE, BUD!
When pancreatic cancer threatened the life of Turners Falls resident Harold "Bud" Collins, he took it in stride.
DECADES OF DEDICATION AND A GIFT FOR THE NEXT GENERATION
To serve as leaders, volunteers and stewards of the Baystate Health mission is almost second nature to David and Evie Woods. Dedicated to Baystate for decades, the couple has now found an additional way to extend their support.
ENDOWED GIFT EASES GRIEF THROUGH GIVING
In 1996, seven-year-old Caitlin Dibble Ross was diagnosed with cancer. Caitlin's heartbroken parents, Ann and Tim, her four-year-old brother, and her extended family — including her uncle, Bulkley Richardson Attorney Francis Dibble, Jr., better known as Sandy — looked for every opportunity to bring joy to her days as the disease took its toll.
SHARING THEIR LOVE: THE LAWSONS GIVE BACK
For Kevin and Sue Lawson, giving back is about the difference they can make by sharing their time, talent and resources.
THANKS FOR THE LOVE, MARY!
In 1943, Mary Therese Dvarecka graduated from what was then the Springfield Hospital School of Nursing.
Retired Employee’s Generosity Fuels Tomorrow’s Care
The Piepul Family and Baystate Medical Center go way back—almost sixty years. Jan was born down the street. Bernadette served as a surgical nurse for 36 years, working in the operating room, post-operative care, and then as manager of general surgery until her retirement earlier this year.
Honoring Her Family: Cathleen Esleeck’s Commitment to Baystate Franklin Lives On
How Your Gift Helps
Your gifts to Baystate Health Foundation help us improve the health of the people in our communities every day, with quality and compassion. Your generosity provides Baystate Health with the resources to…
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Provide the best possible clinical treatment and improve the quality of life for patients; | Educate the next generation of physicians, nurses, researches and other care providers; | Bolster access to care, education and preventative medicine for underserved communities. |