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Jack and Dollie Galter
CHICAGO, IL (October 10, 2005) - The following information comes from the
commemorative program distributed by Swedish Covenant Hospital during
the 50th Anniversary Benefit Gala and provides a closer look at the
lives and philanthropy of Jack and Dollie Galter.
Jack Galter emigrated from Russia to the Chicago area with his family.
As a young man, he became a professional drummer, playing with Benny
Goodman and other luminaries of the Jazz Age.
Sarah Miriam Schiff, also known as "Dollie" from the time she was a very
young girl, was born in Chicago, spent part of her youth in San
Francisco, and then returned to Chicago where she attended Harrison High
School. Soon after, she met Jack and they were married in 1925. Dollie
used to say that hanging around with Goodman and his band members were
some of the happiest times for the two of them . . . because the
musicians were ordinary people, just like she and Jack. But the Galters
were anything but ordinary.
Although his love of music never waned, Jack chose to keep music as his
hobby while becoming a maverick entrepreneur, founding several companies
including the Spartus Corporation, which was once the world's largest
clock manufacturer. With Dollie by his side, offering help and
encouragement, Jack's long career also included great success as a real
estate developer. The Galters' lives truly were the quintessential
American Dream.
Dollie often joked that her husband made the money and she gave it away.
Jack said, "God has been good to us, so we have been good to others."
The Galter Foundation was formed in 1943 and, together, Jack and Dollie
donated more than $100 million, much of it to medical institutions -
health being a focus of Dollie's interests. Among the many Chicago
organizations that their generosity impacted were the Juvenile Diabetes
Foundation, Lambs Farm, Maryville Academy, WTTW-Channel 11, the Newberry
Library and Swedish Covenant Hospital, to name a few.
Swedish Covenant Hospital's Galter LifeCenter was the first
hospital-based health and fitness facility in the country, named in
recognition of the Galters' generosity. The Galter LifeCenter helped to
revive the neighborhood of Albany Park and continues to be a model
facility for health, wellness, rehabilitation and physical therapy. In
addition, Swedish Covenant Hospital's Jack and Dollie Galter Medical
Pavilion houses clinical services and programs such as ambulatory care,
family practice care, patient testing, outpatient pharmacy services, and
inpatient and outpatient surgery services that are offered to thousands
of patients per year.
Jack and Dollie Galter have had a tremendous presence in Chicago, their
names synonymous with "philanthropy." It was the Galters' generosity
toward Swedish Covenant Hospital that helped the hospital to enhance and
expand its healthcare services to its patients and to the community. And
it was the Galters' endorsement of the hospital that helped to give
Swedish Covenant Hospital its deserved recognition as the premier
healthcare facility on Chicago's north and northwest sides.
Jack and Dollie Galter used to reminisce about their earlier days,
associating with "regular people," as they considered themselves to be.
But their compassion toward others was nothing less than extraordinary.
And their legacy of compassionate philanthropy lives on today, as
millions of people continue to be profoundly affected by their generosity.
Swedish Covenant Hospital is proud to honor Jack and Dollie Galter
posthumously with its 2005 Spirit of Compassion Award at its 50th
Anniversary Gala. And the hospital is grateful to the Galters' grandson,
Robbie Joseph, for graciously accepting the award on their behalf.
Copyright © 2008 The Evangelical Covenant Church. |
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