Galvestonians’ Estate Contributes $600,000
to School of Allied Health Sciences
Scholarship endowment supports students
interested in practicing geriatric medicine
GALVESTON, Texas—The estate of Edgar and Grace Gnitzinger has contributed
$600,000 to the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston to build upon
the Gnitzingers’ scholarship fund for outstanding School of Allied Health
Sciences students who plan to practice geriatric medicine.
In the mid 1990s, Mr. Gnitzinger was treated for a chronic illness, and the
elderly Galveston couple became aware of the serious shortage of qualified
health care professionals who were trained in the care of geriatric patients.
They also became concerned about frail elderly friends who had specialized
needs as well.
In 1995, in gratitude for the care they received as UTMB patients, the
Gnitzingers established the Edgar and Grace Gnitzinger Endowed Scholarships in
Geriatric Care in the university’s School of Allied Health Sciences to
encourage young people entering the health care professions to consider
careers in the field of geriatric medicine. The Gnitzingers’ estate added to
the scholarship endowment when Mrs. Gnitzinger died in July of this year.
Twenty-two students have benefited from the Gnitzinger scholarship fund since
its inception.
Dr. Charles H. Christiansen, dean of the School of Allied Health Sciences,
said the Gnitzingers’ scholarship contribution would allow the school to
reward even more students who excel in their studies. “The Gnitzingers’
generous support will be a lasting source of inspiration for us as we endeavor
to teach future generations of health care professionals how to
compassionately care for elderly patients,” he said.
Other UTMB programs have benefited from the Gnitzingers’ generosity. In
1999, two years after her husband died, Grace Gnitzinger created two
distinguished professorships for the university’s Sealy Center on Aging, a
nationally recognized program that coordinates research on aging throughout
the university. The professorships have helped the center attract scientists
to study diseases that affect the elderly’s ability to maintain an active and
independent life style.
Dr. James C. Goodwin, director of the Sealy Center on Aging, was
well-acquainted with the Gnitzingers. “Mr. and Mrs. Gnitzinger poured all
their energy into their marriage,” said Goodwin, who holds the George and
Cynthia Mitchell Distinguished Chair in Geriatric Medicine and is head of the
university’s Division of Geriatrics. “The two of them were grateful for the
care they received at UTMB and in turn were generous in their support of
education and research programs on aging at UTMB. After her husband’s death,
Mrs. Gnitzinger then turned her positive energy to other people. She was an
enormously thoughtful friend to a number of people in Galveston, and she
touched the lives of many employees in the geriatrics program, including my
own.”
Mrs. Gnitzinger, who enjoyed watercolor painting and needlepoint,
bequeathed a major portion of her artwork to UTMB’s Acute Care for Elders
Unit. The ACE Unit, located in John Sealy Hospital on the UTMB campus,
accommodates acutely ill older people in an environment that is more relaxed
and comfortable than the standard hospital room. She also gave artwork and
antiques to the Grace B. Gnitzinger Library in the Sealy Center on Aging to
create a more inviting atmosphere. In addition to the scholarship endowment,
the Gnitzingers bequeathed the remainder of their estate to other programs
benefiting the elderly in the Sealy Center on Aging.
The Gnitzingers moved to Galveston from Chicago in 1982. Mrs.
Gnitzinger had retired after 35 years in the restaurant business. Mr.
Gnitzinger had retired after 45 years at his first and only job as chief of
maintenance for a major furniture company. Prior to their retirement, they
traveled throughout the Southwest in search of an ideal community where they
could spend the rest of their lives and avoid the harsh winters of the Windy
City. Each trip always ended up in Galveston. They fell in love with the
community because of its climate and historical qualities. They were also
attracted to the city because of its outstanding health care facilities, which
they felt were most important in their retirement years.
—UTMB—