In the fall of 1933, when David Packard and Lucile Salter first met, Lucile was a volunteer at the Stanford Convalescent Home for Children, a facility that treated children with tuberculosis. Lucile cared deeply for the health and well-being of children, and over the next few decades she would greatly expand her commitment to children’s causes. Eventually, she would become chair of the board of the Children’s Health Council and work closely with the Stanford Convalescent Home to help it evolve into what is now known as the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford.
Throughout their lives, both David and Lucile demonstrated how much they cared about others and the community around them. In 1964, they established this Foundation to promote positive, lasting change in the areas they cared most about—including children, families, and their local community. Susan Orr, Packard’s Board Chair, remembers the legacy of her mother in shaping the Foundation, “When the foundation became incorporated in 1964, it was our mother who shaped its work. She cared about communities, she cared about listening to other people’s ideas and supporting them, and she cared about finding the most effective ways to have impact. These are values we still embrace in our work.”
David and Lucile were also instrumental in establishing several institutions and programs that are internationally recognized for excellence, including the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford. In 1986, the Children’s Hospital was constructed with a $40 million donation from David and Lucile. When it opened in 1988, the new facility was named in memory of Lucile, who was deeply involved in the design of the hospital but passed away before it opened.
Today we join the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford in celebrating Lucile Salter Packard in honor of what would have been her 100th birthday.
