The hospital auditorium was filled with health-care staff and executives Tuesday praising Archie Verspeeten for his unprecedented donation of $20-million to the London Health Sciences Foundation.
The hospital auditorium was filled with health-care staff and executives Tuesday praising Archie Verspeeten for his unprecedented donation of $20 million to the London Health Sciences Foundation.
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He would have hated every minute of it, his son Dennis Verspeeten said.
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The elder Verspeeten, who died Saturday morning at age 92 in a Tillsonburg hospital, had lost his wife Irene and sons Alan and Ron to cancer and was determined to help other families, Dennis said.
The gift will help do exactly that, said health-care officials who gathered at London Health Sciences Center for the announcement.
“My dad would hate this. He liked writing checks, but he would send us to deliver them,” Dennis said.
“Cancer took a big toll on our family. Every time he lost someone he lost a step in life, he got sadder and he did not want to lose another son before he passed away. He didn’t want another family to feel that pain.”
Archie Verspeeten: 5 things to know about LHSC’s record donor
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LHSC will recognize the generosity of Archie Verspeeten and his family by changing the name of the London Regional Cancer Program to the Verspeeten Family Cancer Centre.
It is the largest gift London Health Sciences Foundation, the fundraising arm of the hospital, has received. The gift also brings to $27 million the total amount of donations the Verspeetens have given the foundation.
“In dad’s last days he said, ‘I don’t care if I die on this day, you make sure you get your asses down there and do this. I am not going anywhere, but this has to get done. People need help,’” Dennis said.
The son described his father as unassuming, saying he shunned attention and gratitude, which came often after he donated to the community center in Delhi, Tillsonburg District Memorial Hospital, the library and the Roman Catholic church in the Delhi area where he lived.
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“If you put him on the street, you would never know he had anything. That’s just the way he was,” Dennis said. “He lived in the house he built 49 years ago with my brother. He did not need a mansion to let people know who he was, he drove a pickup truck; that is just the way he was. He was happy to help people.
“We could not ask for better parents.”
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Before he died, Archie wrote about the donation:
“The loss of my wife and sons to cancer has intensified my determination to create a lasting impact in the battle against this devastating disease,” he said. “I sincerely hope this contribution will not only advance efforts toward a cure but also enhance the quality of life for patients, allowing them to live comfortably despite the challenges of the disease.”
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Hospital officials at the announcement described the gift as transformative and a “game changer” for cancer care in London and area.
Kevin Chan, interim chief executive of LHSC, offered a personal story about cancer’s impact, saying he is a cancer survivor but the disease took its toll as he suffers hearing loss and has mobility issues.
His brother Arnold Chan, a Toronto-area Liberal MP, died from cancer.
“Seven years ago I had to go through one of the most horrendous times of my life and thankfully I am still here,” Kevin Chan said.
“It has taken away my perfect hearing. I lost sense in my fingers and toes. I can no longer easily turn to look around. It has left me with an intense overwhelming fear whenever I get an ache or pain.”
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Of his brother, Chan said, “he was my best friend, the person I always looked to, and cancer robbed me of him.”
It is too soon to say exactly where the money will be funneled, but it will ensure there are resources for “groundbreaking work,” being done, Chan said.
“We are standing at the brink of transformational change and this gift will help us get there to advance medical research and patient care,” he said.
Verspeeten was a lifelong member of
Our Lady, Queen of Martyrs Roman Catholic Church
in Delhi, the Southwestern Ontario town where he lived his entire adult life. He was married for 66 years to Irene, who died in 2017, and together they grew tobacco and launched the Ingersoll-based trucking firm that bears the family name.
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“In the last 25 years, he returned to his roots of farming and shifted his focus to philanthropy,” his obituary reads. “This became Archie’s passion, with sizable donations made to various medical facilities in Southwestern Ontario.”
A funeral mass will be held at Our Lady, Queen of Martyrs in Delhi on Wednesday at 10 am
“It’s a huge moment for LHSC,” John MacFarlane, chief executive of the London Health Sciences Foundation, said as the gift was announced Tuesday morning. “(It’s) a game changer.”
Along with Dennis, Archie is survived by his sons Brian and Mark, 11 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.
His death sparked an outpouring of online tributes.
“He was one of the most caring, thoughtful people in our community and beyond,” Margaret Saunders wrote, “and many are reaping the benefits of his generosity today.”
Added Randy Goudeseune: “Truly a sad day for Delhi. We will all miss Archie’s kindness in this town.”
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