Shriners And Hospital Receive Huge Gift

Shriners Hospitals for Children received a shot in the arm Tuesday thanks to the generosity of a local woman, whose husband had been a Shriner.

Twenty-seven years ago, retired Warsaw dentist Dr. Cecil R. "C.R." Collins died without leaving a will. His widow, Frances Alene Collins, acquired all assets from the couple's 46-year union. When she died on Aug. 7, 1996, a will determined that investments left about $2 million to be distributed to her heirs.

With no children, Mrs. Collins designated $1,000 each to several nephews and nieces, as well as $1,000 to the IOOF Cemetery at Kewanna, the Agnes Pruyn Chapman Chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution and the First Methodist Church of Warsaw building fund.

But the bulk of the estate, which has grown to $3.4 million through investments since Mrs. Collins' death, was divided between the Mizpah Shrine Temple of Fort Wayne and Lutheran Hospital of Fort Wayne.

This means that the two main beneficiaries of Collins' estate each receive nearly $1.9 million. The Shriners accepted their share and chartered a bus Tuesday to present the donation at the Chicago hospital.

James Lobsiger, potentate of Mizpah Temple, said that there are 570 active cases of children from this area being treated - the area covered by the Fort Wayne district comprises 14 counties, of which Kosciusko County is included.

Six vans operate daily throughout the area to pick up children and their sponsors or parents to take them to and from the hospital as needed.

Although there are 22 Shriners Hospitals throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico, children from this area are treated at either the Chicago or Cincinnati hospitals.

The daily operating expense for the hospitals is $1.25 million. The total budget for 1998 for the hospitals is $457 million, with an operating budget of $390 million, of which $21 million is allocated for research. The capital expenditures budget is $67 million.

In 1997, 20,559 children were admitted to Shriners orthopedic hospitals, 2,824 to burn hospitals and 239,337 were treated as outpatients or through outreach clinic visits.

All care and services provided at Shriners Hospitals are totally without charge to the patient and family, according to information provided by the Shriners.

Ron Harruff, who heads the endowments, wills and gifts division of the local Shrine, said that such donations are important for the hospitals and investments are continued after their receipt.

"We never touch principle," Harruff said. "We work strictly off interest from investments."

"This is the largest donation ever from our area," said Shriner John Hall of Warsaw. Hall, who is second in command of the Mizpah Shrine and assumes the role of potentate in 1999, was one of a dozen or so members who, along with officials of First National Bank of Warsaw (which has handled the estate), traveled to Chicago for the presentation and a private tour of the hospital there.

Another member on the bus, finance committee chairman Russell Heyde of Warsaw, said that for the 25 years after Dr. Collins' death, Mrs. Collins was still viewed as a member of the Shrine family. Heyde said that he made sure that she was invited to Shrine events and even took her along with himself and his wife to several outings.

Heyde believes that a presentation about the Shriners Hospitals for which Mrs. Collins was in attendance was the turning point which led to her decision to bequeath monies to the Shriners. Her will states that the portion of her assets designated for the Shrine is "to be used for the hospitals maintained for crippled children and burns."

Lutheran Hospital's share is to be used for heart research and for equipment for the care and comfort of heart patients in the intensive care unit. Hall said he believes Dr. Collins suffered from a heart ailment. He was hospitalized at Lutheran for several weeks prior to his death on March 7, 1971.

There are about 5,300 members in the local Shrine, with a nationwide membership of about 575,000. Their purpose is to save children's lives and restore their bodies to the highest level of usefulness through treatment; to conduct research into orthopedic and burn care; and to train physicians and other medical professionals in the treatment of orthopedic disabilities and burn injuries.

Annual local fund-raisers include the Vidalia onion sales which brings in about $25,000 to $30,000; a horse show at Columbia City; and fly-in breakfast. All proceed go directly to the hospitals.