For the Tod family, The Ottawa Hospital has been a pillar of support for nearly 60 years.

Charles and Maureen first moved to Ottawa in 1963 with their daughters, Cynthia and Melanie, into a home just blocks from the former Civic Hospital. They’d picked the house because Charles could walk to work easily–but the location soon proved even more ideal than they’d thought.

Through the years, the doctors at The Ottawa Hospital treated the family for ailments of all sorts: from tonsillitis and appendicitis to concussions, sprains, and stitches. It’s where Charles got his hearing aids adjusted, and where Melanie underwent investigative surgery. More recently, it’s where Maureen was treated for a series of mini strokes that caused several falls.

And the connection spread further. Because they were so near the hospital, it wasn’t uncommon for friends undergoing treatment at the hospital to drop by afterward for a cup of comforting tea.

No matter what was wrong, the Tods knew that The Ottawa Hospital was the place to go for world-class care.

Never one to receive and not pay it forward, Maureen began volunteering at the gift shop. She also became a donor–inspiring her daughter Melanie to do the same. So it felt like a natural extension for Maureen to include The Ottawa Hospital in her will.

“It will be helpful to people to have the care available. And at almost 90, I haven’t needed a lot of care, but when I did, I got great care, and I’m still doing well. I want to pass that on.”


The Ottawa Hospital is a leading academic health, research, and learning hospital proudly affiliated with the University of Ottawa.

Kathleen was born in Kemptville, Ontario, in 1906. From an early age, she had a real knack with children that led her to pursue her teaching certification in 1925.

Certificate in hand, Kathleen began teaching in a small, one-room schoolhouse, filled with students from grade one all the way to grade eight. She spent two years moulding minds and teaching the values of compassion, duty, and looking out for one another.

Her keen interest in children only grew in that time and Kathleen decided to take it a step further. She moved to Guelph, where she completed a degree in Household Science in 1929 that enabled her to work as a dietician at Sick Kids in Toronto before resuming her teaching career in Home Economics.

The work was challenging for Kathleen – but also deeply satisfying. While it broke her heart to see little ones suffering so much, it also drove her to do her very best to give them whatever small comfort she could.

In fact, the injustice of small children starting life with such a disadvantage – of lives filled with promise, cut short all too soon by disease – never left her. And it’s what inspired this centenarian to leave a gift in her will that could aid in the training of nurses who wish to specialize in neo-natal care.

Kathleen spent her lifetime dedicated to nurturing our next generation. And that legacy will last for many lifetimes more, thanks to her legacy gift to The Ottawa Hospital.


The Ottawa Hospital is a leading academic health, research, and learning hospital proudly affiliated with the University of Ottawa.

When Annie and Hernan moved to Ottawa, they had two suitcases, a toddler, and $500 in their pockets.

Annie became Chief Financial Officer of The Ottawa Hospital Foundation. Over the years, she saw first-hand the importance of life-saving care: when a rare virus devastated her kidneys and put her on dialysis, the doctors at The Ottawa Hospital fixed her up. And, Hernan received a successful corneal transplant there.

“I noticed that a growing number of people in and around Ottawa were leaving gifts in their wills to the Hospital. Even though this type of giving doesn’t usually generate much attention, I came to learn what an important source of revenue it is to clinical research, the purchase of medical equipment and the delivery of world-class patient care.”

So, around the time that Annie’s kidney disease was resolved, the couple decided to include a gift to The Ottawa Hospital in their estate plans.

They didn’t think much on it until 2015, when Hernan was diagnosed with appendiceal cancer (or cancer of the appendix, a very rare form of cancer). The Ottawa Hospital was there once again. He fought with everything he had. Tragically, the cancer won, taking Hernan’s life in the end.

Today, Annie misses Hernan terribly–but she does her best to live life to the fullest, like her husband would have wanted. And, she knows that his legacy of kindness and community lives on, thanks to the gift in their will.

“When I look back on my life, I think of me and Hernan as a pair. We have built so much–and we will leave so much. We made beautiful, bright children. We worked hard for the betterment of others. And, we left our bequests to The Ottawa Hospital Foundation, so that those who follow us will receive the best possible healthcare when they need it most.”


The Ottawa Hospital is a leading academic health, research, and learning hospital proudly affiliated with the University of Ottawa.

Why should you make a gift in your will?

Right now, at The Ottawa Hospital, we’re conducting major surgeries through incisions the size of a keyhole. We’ve learned how to dissolve brain tumours, personalize chemotherapy, and repair a heart after a heart attack. We’re using viruses and stem cells to change the outcomes of deadly diseases.

Ten or fifteen years ago, none of that would have been possible. And for the patients diagnosed with those diseases, the outcome would have been very different.

But today, we can offer these life-saving therapies and treatments, because forward-thinking Ottawans chose to remember The Ottawa Hospital with a gift in their will.Those gifts funded the research, purchased the equipment, and built the care teams that are saving lives, right here in Ottawa, every single day.

We still have a long way to go. There are diseases we still can’t cure, injuries we can’t fully fix–at least, not yet. But with a gift in your will to The Ottawa Hospital, you can make sure that the progress continues. Your compassion will reach into the future, shaping healthcare in Ottawa for generations to come.

We’re here to help.

Talk to us about your will. Whether you’re just starting to think about your will, looking to update an existing will, or in need of more information, we’re here to help. We can discuss how you might like your gift to be spent or arrange a visit so you can see what difference your legacy gift has the potential to make. We do recommend that you consult a lawyer for matters related to your will, but we can help you with any questions you may have. Please call Graham Thompson, Manager, Philanthropy, at (613) 798-5555 extension 19818, or enter your details below to receive a response by email.