THE WALTER FAMILY TRADITION LIVES ON,HEART AND SOUL.
THE
Joe had a heart attack in 1978, followed by two bypasses within the next eight years. In 1990, with Joe’s life on the line, he received a successful heart transplant at Methodist and in the process, he and his family formed relationships with many of the hospital’s wonderful physicians, including surgeon Dr. Jimmy Howell. Elizabeth Walter credits the transplant and care he received at Methodist for adding seven years to her husband’s life. Having those extra years allowed Joe to get to know all of his grandchildren. Carole Walter Looke and her husband, Jim, were especially grateful. She gave birth to eight of Joe’s grandchildren, all at Methodist, with the grandfatherto-be pacing in the waiting room each time. Following in the elder Walter’s footsteps, this close-knit family continues to share their time and their financial resources with Methodist. In 2010, they committed a significant gift to establish the Methodist
J. C. Walter Jr. Transplant Center in their father’s memory. The idea came after a serendipitous meeting with Dr. Osama Gaber, Methodist’s director of transplantation. Rusty and his wife, Paula, were thoroughly impressed by his vision to create an integrated, end-stage organ failure management program. Proud to help fast-forward the process, the family also funded a distinguished endowed chair in their father’s name, which Gaber holds. Under Gaber’s direction, the Center is now garnering national acclaim for exciting new transplantation inventions and techniques, and driving the growth of the hospital both academically and clinically. The family also established the Joseph C. “Rusty” Walter and Carole Walter Looke Endowed Chair in Cardiovascular Disease Research, which promises to continue the big-hearted Walter family legacy for generations to come.
TRANSPLANT ADDED
7 YEARS TO HIS LIFE ALLOWING HIM TO
KNOW ALL OF HIS
GRANDCHILDREN
EMILY HERRMANN INSPIRED A GIFT THAT IS MAKING TRANSFORMATIONAL CANCER RESEARCH POSSIBLE. Rusty and Carole’s philanthropy also established the Emily Herrmann Cancer Research Laboratory at The Methodist Hospital Research Institute in honor of their beloved friend and colleague, a Methodist patient who in 2007 lost her 10-year battle with breast cancer. Emily Herrmann began working at Walter Oil and Gas Corporation three years after Joe opened its doors. She happily remained there for more than 25 years. On the fourth anniversary of Herrmann’s 16
The Methodist Hospital Foundation
death, nearly 150 friends and family members gathered to celebrate her life. As a result of their generosity, $1.5 million in philanthropic support has been secured to establish the Emily Herrmann Cancer Research Laboratory Fund – a fitting tribute to a tenacious woman who inspired so many people in her lifetime. This vital fund enables researchers to experiment with revolutionary tools and potential cures for cancer that otherwise might not see the light of day.