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The Estate of Harvey J. Dick

Harvey J. Dick became an advocate for individuals with mental retardation and developmental disabilities (MR/DD) more than 50 years ago when his son Harvey Jr. was born with severe disabilities. Dick and his wife Elsie spent much of their time trying to find the best care possible for their son. In the early 1950s, quality hands-on facilities for people with MR/DD were few. Dick never felt like they found adequate care and that his son’s life suffered because of it.

By his later years, Dick, who owned a construction company that built Catholic schools and churches, accumulated more than $1 million. With both his son and wife deceased, Dick had only one plan for his estate—donate it to charity. Throughout his life, both Dick and his wife had been active in the community, especially in MR/DD causes. To honor his son, Dick decided to donate the bulk of his estate, nearly 80 percent, to MR/DD organizations. Four organizations, including the Center of Family Love, received 19 percent of the estate, which came to $218,454.99.

Before Dick chose his charities, he did extensive research. Dick felt very strongly that his money should only benefit organizations that provided people with hands-on, quality care. Instead of just reading about an organization’s services, Dick needed to see them first-hand. “Originally, he hadn’t included the Center of Family Love in his will because he didn’t know about it,” Feran said.

Camp said she suggested the Center of family Love to Dick because she thought it was a good fit for him. “He wanted a place where the staff cared about the people who stayed there,” she said. “I knew that he would see that there [at CFL].”

Even with Camp’s approval, Dick remained a bit skeptical. During an unannounced visit to CFL, Dick became extremely impressed with what he saw. During his visit, he saw the staff interacting with the individuals one-on-one. He saw some individuals enjoying a handbell choir rehearsal and others getting ready for a field trip and knew that this facility deserved his money.

“He wanted to give money so individuals would have a better life than his son had because of the places he had lived in,” Feran said. “I know the money went to a good cause.”

Previous Donor Spotlights

Please, take a few minutes and get to know some of the people that have chosen to make avaialble the services and supports needed to make a caring and loving home possible to childen and adults with mental retardation/developmental disabilities (MR/DD).