CHICAGO (CBS) – Ann Lurie, the prolific philanthropist whose donations benefitted medical treatment and research in Chicago and around the world, has died at the age of 79 on Monday from complications from a recent illness, according to a Northwestern University news release.
Lurie was born and raised in Florida, where she worked in public health and moved to Chicago in 1973 where she worked as a pediatric intensive care nurse at the former Children’s Memorial Hospital. She married Bob Lurie, a real estate developer, who died in 1990 from colon cancer.
She ran the Anne and Robert H. Lurie Foundation, which supported several charitable causes in Chicago and around the world. Such donations included $100 million to build the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, which opened in Streeterville in 2012 and serves more than 200,000 children each year.
“Her unwavering dedication and generous contributions to our organization touched countless lives and will continue to be a source of inspiration to us all, and her absence will be deeply felt,” said Dr. Tom Shanley, Lurie Children’s president and CEO, in a statement.
She’s also served as a lifetime member of the Board of Trustees at Northwestern University, where she’s also given funding for the school’s cancer center and medical research. She’s given more than $60 million to Northwestern over the years, the university said.
“Ann had a tremendous impact on Northwestern through her generosity, her leadership and her service,” said Northwestern President Michael Schill in a statement. “As a trustee, she helped propel the University and our medical research to ever greater heights. She touched so many lives, both at Northwestern and well beyond. My deepest condolences to her family and to so many friends who loved her.”
