Generosity Through Generations

When Susan Bible Hicks arrived in Charlotte in 1919, it is unlikely she envisioned the significant legacy she and her family would leave for healthcare in the region.

An avid supporter of many local nonprofits, Susan became a beloved figure at Presbyterian, giving more than 7,000 hours of volunteer service during her lifetime. Most of her volunteering was in the often emotional environment of the Intensive Care Unit, where she volunteered well past her 90th birthday and for which she was honored as the first director emeritus of the hospital's auxiliary board. According to a 1996 article in the Charlotte Observer, "her delight was her Christian faith, her family and serving others."

When Susan passed away in 1996 at age 103, she generously bequeathed a portion of her estate to the Presbyterian Healthcare Foundation to support nursing education. Perhaps as notable, she also passed along her charitable nature and love of Presbyterian to her son, John Darwin Hicks.

John's devotion to Presbyterian Hospital ran deep, and he served as a spirited advocate for improving healthcare in Charlotte for almost 40 years. His service to Presbyterian Hospital's board of directors lasted more than 25 years, and he was a dedicated member of Presbyterian Healthcare Foundation's board, helping initiate the Foundation in 1980. In one of his last letters to the Foundation staff, John wrote: "My best wishes to you and to all who labor to help this institution to which I have so long been devoted."

Upon John's death in 2011, he also bequeathed a portion of his estate to the Presbyterian Healthcare Foundation to support nursing education and Presbyterian's hospice program.

Together, the gifts from Susan's and John's estates now provide more than $25,000 annually to support nursing education at Presbyterian Healthcare. Through the generosity and kindness of mother and son, these gifts will continue to help ensure that Presbyterian's nurses receive the best education possible to serve patients. The legacies of Susan and John Hicks will live on in the lives touched through their life-saving gifts of nursing education.