Spicer’s example one to follow: Deans

Doug Deans, chair of the Dauphin General Hospital Foundation would like more Dauphinites to follow the lead of Eileen Spicer and consider making meaningful donations to charities of their choice through their lifetime, or when preparing their will.

Spicer died on Oct. 9, 2015, at the age of 92. She and husband, James, a retired RCMP officer, were longtime residents of Dauphin.

After his death about 25 years ago, Spicer remained in the community.

Prior to her death, she had received a large sum from her sister, Deans explained, and decided to leave all of her money to various charities.

“During her lifetime, she gave money to the Dauphin Fire Department, to the Handivan, which she used quite a bit and then she gave a substantial amount of money to the Parkland Humane Society,” he said, adding the PHS building is named after Spicer.

Deans was the executor of Spicer’s will and said she left the bulk of her estate to three charities.

He pointed out he is not revealing any confidences in discussing it, as once a will is filed, it is a public document.

Those charities were the Winnipeg Humane Society, Parkland Humane Society and the Dauphin General Hospital Foundation

“Each of those charities ultimately will be receiving in excess of$220,000,” Deans added.

He explained Spicer was a great lover of animals, particularily cats. She had no immediate family, just very extended relatives.

“Also, the funds she received from her sister, her sister was also a very great lover of animals. And so a lot of these gifts, especially to the two humane societies were left in remembrance of her sister,” Deans noted.

There are immediate needs for almost every charity and Deans encourages community members to consider a charity, when are making financial gifts.

“And consider it in a meaningful fashion. Not just saying, ‘if my whole family’s gone, I will perhaps leave something for charity’,” he said.

“But maybe leave something to a charity in the first instance.”

There is a tax write off to it, Deans noted, which can be helpful, as there can be significant taxes the estate owes, once someone dies.

The gift does not have to be hundreds of thousands of dollars bequested to a charity, he said, as a gift of any amount can be meaningful to a charity.

“If enough of us do that and you start adding it all together, it ends up to be a nice sum of money,” Deans added.

When giving funds to the Dauphin General Hospital Foundation, donors can earmark where the funds are to go, such as palliative care, the dialysis unit or PCH, for example.

Any gift made to the local hospital or personal care home, he explained, is put through the hospital foundation fund.

Donating to the local hospital foundation, Deans said, will be a direct benefit to anyone making use of the facility and it helps to improve services and programs available in the hospital, which is also a benefit to the community.

“The more medical people we have here, the less we have to travel,” he added.

Deans recommends anyone interested in making meaningful gifts to a charity, talk to their lawyer, investment advisor or the charity they want to benefit.

By M. A. Nyquist Herald Staff