PUEBLO, Colorado — Cancer patients receiving treatment in Pueblo now have a peaceful new place to heal. The Mary Jane Voelker Living Legacy Courtyard and Commemorative Statue were unveiled Thursday afternoon at the Dorcy Cancer Center at Saint Mary Corwin Hospital.
Voelker was a long-time benefactor to the hospital foundation who frequently participated in the annual Cowboys Kickin' Cancer fundraiser at the Colorado State Fair.
She left a transformational gift to the hospital foundation following her death in 2021. The more than $7 million gift is the largest received by any of the Centura Medical Centers.
St. Mary Corwin Medical Center CEO Mike Cafasso explained patients frequently travel long distances to receive treatment at the Dorcy Cancer Center. The foundation and Voelker's gift will ensure those patients can focus on recovery while they are here.
"We try to reduce unnecessary anxiety, that's what part of these funds deal with is minimizing for patients and their families unnecessary anxiety cause (a cancer diagnonis) comes with it already" Cafasso said.
Voelker's cousin Rob Kilmer and his wife Sue traveled from Canada to attend the dedication ceremony.
The 800-pound bronze statue is shaped like cross and depicts the Bible, a dove, the lamb, and St. Peregrine, the Patron Saint of Cancer Patients.
It stands in a courtyard directly west of the oncology unit. Sculptor Rick Willits Pueblo also carved a group of benches surrounding the artwork. They were cut from the same stone that built the original St. Mary Corwin Hospital.
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