Bequest to Rush Will Support Cardiovascular and Breast Cancer Research

Decades of care at Rush University Medical Center led one woman to leave a $100,000 bequest in honor of her family

Frances Pass has a lot of appreciation for Rush University Medical Center. She and her family have a long history at Rush, with ties stretching back decades.

A resident of California who was raised in Chicago, Frances and her six siblings were all born at Rush between the 1940s and 1960s when it was known as Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Hospital. Her mother, Geraldine Pass, said she first became acquainted with the hospital following a visit to the prenatal clinic in 1946 after hearing about the hospital through her mother-in-law, who was an employee at Rush.

“Back then, the hospital was so small,” Geraldine said. “But it had everything in there, and the doctors were always terrific. As time went on, we became frequent fliers here.”

Since then, several members of Frances’ family have received life-changing and consistent care at Rush, including her “very special sister” Linda’s lifesaving treatment as an infant in the 1950s, the extensive heart treatments her brother underwent as a child, and the ongoing care her mother still receives today.

However, it was the extraordinary care her father, Billy, received at Rush in addition to the quick diagnosis and early treatment her sister, Lori, received that left the biggest impact on Frances.

“My dad was a patient here for many years before he passed away at 87. The amount of care — and he got great care — was remarkable and is why I wanted to support cardiac research. The doctors really did love him,” Frances said. “My sister Lori passed away from breast cancer in June of 2021, which is why I am also so passionate about breast cancer research. It’s incredible she was able to live for 10 years and is a testament to the doctors who were able to diagnose her. She was a warrior. It was quite a battle, and she fought it hard.”

From all of the care the Pass family received at Rush in the past to the future care Frances says she’ll receive there when she eventually retires, she wanted to find a way to pay it forward to an institution that has meant so much to her family. In honor of the Pass family, she has committed a $100,000 bequest to Rush in support of cardiovascular and breast cancer research, supporting the constantly evolving science. With Rush being an academic health system that leads research and educates doctors, nurses, allied health professionals, researchers, and more, she trusts the funds she’s donating will be put to good use, helping both those who are learning here and the patients they are taking care of live longer, healthier lives. In appreciation of her gift, Frances is also recognized as a member of the Rush Heritage Society.

With her bequest, Frances will make an even bigger impact on Rush’s future while ensuring the availability of assets to her during her lifetime. Planned gifts of all sizes and designations enable Rush to fulfill its mission of providing the highest quality patient care, research, education, and community outreach. As the field of health care continues to evolve, deferred gifts help secure Rush’s future by ensuring that valuable resources will be there when they are needed most.

“Rush has been with me my whole life and has been a part of my family’s lives all these years, and we put a lot of trust in the doctors there. Whenever we need medical care, we go to Rush, and I think that says a lot,” Frances said. “This is just a small way for me to give Rush a huge thank you from the entire Pass family.”

To learn more about gift planning or discuss options that might be right for you, please contact Susan Sasvari, executive director of gift planning, at (312) 942-3691 or giftplanning@rush.edu.