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Estate of Robert M. McElfresh donates $100,000 in support of Upstate's Community Campus

Estate of Robert M. McElfresh donates $100,000 in support of Upstate's Community Campus

SYRACUSE, N.Y.-- More than 60 years after a patient received care at what is now the Upstate University Hospital Community Campus, his philanthropic gift will help patients of today.

In late 2013, the Upstate Foundation announced that the estate of the late Robert M. McElfresh donated $100,000 in support of the Community Campus. In January 2015, the grateful patient gift was finalized as the specific benefactors of the gift were determined by McElfresh’s family members.

McElfresh suffered a back injury and received life-changing care at the Castle Street location of General Hospital of Syracuse, which later became Community General Hospital, when the facility opened 50 years ago. Grateful of the care he received, McElfresh bestowed this gift to the now-Community Campus in hopes of touching the lives of future patients.

“I am delighted to announce that the McElfresh family has decided that a portion of the estate gift will be placed in an endowed fund where it will live on in perpetuity to support patients far into the future,” said Upstate Foundation Development Director Julie Galler Simms. “As a visionary with a generous heart, Mr. McElfresh would be pleased that his gift will live on to support patients generations from now.”

The remainder of the gift will be placed in a current use fund. “My father’s wishes were simple and straight forward. His intention was that his gift support patient service programs, medical equipment, things that would improve the quality of life. He recognized that the exceptional medical care he received after the War, made it possible for him to live a full and rewarding life,” said Robert’s son, Gary McElfresh.

Born in 1922 in Woodbury, N.J., McElfresh lived a life full of adventure, travel and music. He passed away in 2010 in Dunedin, Fla., and is survived by his two children, Gary and Ellen. His wife, Margret Ann, predeceased him.

A graduate of Syracuse University, McElfresh began his brave service in the Army in October 1944. During that time, he marched from the shores of France to Germany, and was involved in the Battle of the Bulge and the Battle of the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen, the last standing bridge over the Rhine. He received a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart in recognition of his fine service to the United States.

Upon his return to the United States, McElfresh moved to Syracuse and soon after began a 34-year career with General Electric. Although the exact dates are unknown, he was admitted to General Hospital of Syracuse at some point after the end of World War II. There, he received care for a back injury that was impacting his quality of life. McElfresh’s son, Gary, has said that his father credited General Hospital with “saving his life.”

“Mr. McElfresh’s grateful patient story is one that truly stands the test of time,” said Simms. “Six decades after the hospital stay that ‘saved his life,’ the patients of today and tomorrow will benefit from his generous spirit.”

The Foundation will honor McElfresh with a commemorative plaque near the conference/team room in the Center for Orthopedics located on the sixth floor.

For more information about the Upstate Foundation, call 315-464-4416.

Caption: The estate of Robert M. McElfresh presented the Community Campus with a $100,000 gift in gratitude for the care McElfresh received some 60 years earlier.

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