Gift Snapshots

Houston Methodist-affiliated kidney specialist Dr. Samir N. Tuma and his wife, Grace I. Tuma, recently established the Dr. Samir N. Tuma Academic Endowed Chair in Nephrology in the Houston Methodist Department of Medicine to expand education in nephrology, the branch of medicine focused on diagnosing and treating kidney conditions. Passionate about kidney instruction, the couple also support a Department of Medicine lectureship in nephrology. Dr. Tuma was one of the earliest physician-scientists to write about amyloidosis — organ damage that can lead to kidney disease — caused by amyloid proteins abnormally folding to form deposits in the kidneys.

Jean W. Durdin’s impactful generosity will initiate the Jean W. Durdin, Durdin Family Endowment, bolstering the mission of the Center for Health & Nature. The Center for Health & Nature is a collaboration between Houston Methodist, Texas A&M Health and Texan by Nature. This dynamic partnership explores the role of nature in patient care through evidence-based health and nature programs, research and educations efforts.

A gift from the Sir Horace Kadoorie International Foundation made possible an important new endowed chair within the Houston Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center that could spur new levels of accomplishment in the field. The foundation’s generous support is commemorated by naming the position the Dr. Gerald M. Lawrie Distinguished Endowed Chair in Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery.

Merging her skills as an accomplished pianist and her passion for community service, Sharon Ley Lietzow is dedicated to organizations that promote the value of music. It’s that devotion that led Sharon to gift the Steinway piano she inherited from her cherished late teacher to Houston Methodist Hospital. Today, the same piano on which she began lessons at the age of seven resides in the hospital’s Barbara and President George H.W. Bush Atrium, its notes drifting up toward the third-floor waiting room. As Sharon points out, “The piano really is the gift that keeps on giving.” Sharon and her husband, Bob, also made a generous gift to establish the Robert and Sharon Ley Lietzow Healing Arts Endowment in the Center for Performing Arts Medicine (CPAM) to assure that the piano and other instruments in CPAM’s inventory are carefully maintained.

Numerous medical specialty fields are enhanced thanks to The Hamill Foundation’s recent investments in technology and medical equipment, a Urology Robotics Fellowship, the Women’s Urology Clinic and ALS research, as well as research innovations for lung and liver cancer in the Houston Methodist Dr. Mary and Ron Neal Cancer Center. Claud and Marie Hamill's and The Hamill Foundation's generous contributions have funded some of Houston Methodist’s most vital programs since their first gift in 1974. Their philanthropy has supported a broad array of initiatives, including prostate cancer research and other areas within the Men’s Health Center, community stroke education, nursing excellence, neuro-degenerative disease research, bereavement intervention and many other critical areas — making a difference in countless lives.