Giving Back Through Generations

Growing up in rural Arkansas, Mary Virginia Rogers knew she wanted to help people by pursing a career in nursing. She came to Memphis to train and completed rotations at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital.

Mary Virginia had no idea that more than 80 years later, her great grandniece, Ginny Rose Williams, would require the expert care only Le Bonheur can provide. Ginny Rose was born with Trisomy 14 mosaic and was transferred from her birth hospital to Le Bonheur’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) where she spent six weeks. After being discharged, Ginny Rose continued to receive routine care at Le Bonheur Pediatrics as well as undergoing therapy treatments and GI follow-up care.

According to Ginny Rose’s grandmother, Mary Wiliams, Mary Virginia knew that Ginny Rose would need extensive medical care so she set up a trust to ensure that Ginny Rose’s needs would be taken care of. “Ginny Rose couldn’t speak but her actions translated her responses,” Mary Williams said.

“Between her therapist and teachers, she developed her own language so they fully understood what she was saying. This special language extended to her baby brother who was Ginny Rose’s best friend.”

When Ginny Rose passed away in 2020, the balance of her trust was designated for Le Bonheur, as Mary Virginia wanted to give back to the hospital that cared for her great grandniece.

“Health care was always important to Mary Virginia, she knew that if kids had access to the care they needed, they had a better opportunity to live longer and have a better life,” Mary Williams said. “Kids can’t control what they are born with and it is important for people who can assist and donate to do so in order to help children and their families.”

In 2025, Mary Virginia Rogers passed away and left a transformational gift to Le Bonheur through her trust which will allow Le Bonheur to continue caring for children like Ginny Rose. On March 30, 2026, a NICU room in Le Bonheur’s expanded NICU was dedicated in honor of the gift from Mary Virginia Rogers and in celebration of the life of Ginny Rose Williams.

“The plaque in the NICU means so much to our family,” Mary Williams said. “It shows the generosity of my aunt, Mary Virginia Rogers, and that she cared enough to help the hospital in so many ways.”

For information about naming Le Bonheur as a beneficiary of your will or trust, please contact Cathy Wilson, J.D., CFRE, CAP® at 901-287-5575 or  cathy.wilson2@lebonheur.org.