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To honor those friends and help others, Frank and his wife, Cricket, recently pledged $500,000 to the Wilmot Cancer Center to support construction of the new facility for expanded care and research.
Frank and Cricket elected to make a special simplified donation. They'll pay a portion of their generous pledge with a tax-free IRA Charitable Rollover distribution, which won't be included in their adjusted gross income.
Luellen Gift Honors Friends, Supports
Wilmot Comprehensive Campaign
Frank Luellen lost two very close friends – James P. Wilmot and former University of Rochester classmate Roger Lathan — to cancer and supported former fraternity brother David Kearns through cancer. Now Luellen has joined the effort to find cures and save lives. Luellen and his wife, Cricket, recently donated $500,000 to the Wilmot Cancer Center,named for his friend, to support construction of a new facility to expand care and research.
In recognition of this gift, the Wilmot Cancer Center will open the Frank and Cricket Luellen Patient and Family Resource Center in spring 2008. “Countless patients will benefit from the generosity of the Luellen family,” says Richard I. Fisher, M.D., director of the Wilmot Cancer Center. “This gift will help elevate the level of support and information our patients can receive here.”
The resource center will be the information hub for patients and their families when the new facility opens. It will include a library and computers and provide space for multimedia presentations and support group meetings. “Cancer is a horrible thing for anyone to go through. My family has been lucky that we haven’t faced it, but my friends and their families have,” says Luellen, a 1952 graduate. He gave the gift, in part, as a tribute to his friends who had strong ties to the cancer center.
Luellen operated his own insurance agency and worked with Wilmot to insure Wilmorite and Page Airways. They forged a friendship beyond their business dealings. Wilmot died from an aggressive brain tumor in 1980 and he left millions to support cancerresearch. The cancer center was named for Wilmot in 2000.Lathan, who was a Deke fraternity brother with Luellen, worked for decades in the development offices at the University. He was a founding member of the Wilmot Cancer Center Board and often talked of its progress in the war on cancer. Lathan battled the disease before his death in 2002.
At the same time, Kearns was being treated for sinus cancer. Luellen and Kearns were roommates at the fraternity house. Kearns, who served as CEO of Xerox Corp., and worked in education reform with former President George H. W. Bush in the 1990s, received the Wilmot Cancer Center’s highest honor, the Inspiration Award, in 2003 for his courage during his aggressive treatment and survival.
Luellen, who has been a strong supporter of the University, attended a reception at the home of Paul and Judy Linehan, co-chair of the comprehensive campaign, to learn more about Wilmot Cancer Center’s strategic plan. Impressed by Fisher’s goals and determination, Luellen decided to get involved, initially as a sponsor of the Discovery Ball, to support the expansion plans.
The Luellens, who have five grown children and five grandchildren, took advantage of a recent change in legislation that allows people to rollover retirement fund disbursements to charitable organizations without tax penalty. "There are times when you can make a real difference by making a gift,” he says. “I’m pleased to be able to add my family’s name to my friend Jim’s name at the Wilmot Cancer Center."
