Donor Spotlight
The Estate of Harvey J. Dick
Harvey J. Dick became
an advocate for individuals with developmental
disabilities more than 50 years ago when
his son Harvey Jr. was born with severe
disabilities. Dick and his wife Elsie spent
much of their time trying to find the best
care possible for their son. In the early
1950s, quality hands-on facilities for people
with developmental disabilities were few.
Dick never felt like they found adequate
care and that his son’s life suffered
because of it.
By his later years, Dick,
who owned a construction company that built
Catholic schools and churches, accumulated
more than $1 million. With both his son
and wife deceased, Dick had only one plan
for his estate—donate it to charity.
Throughout his life, both Dick and his wife
had been active in the community, especially
in disability causes. To honor his son,
Dick decided to donate the bulk of his estate,
nearly 80 percent, to disability organizations.
Four organizations, including Hattie Larlham,
received 19 percent of the estate, which
came to $218,454.99.
Before Dick chose his
charities, he did extensive research. Dick
felt very strongly that his money should
only benefit organizations that provided
people with hands-on, quality care. Instead
of just reading about an organization’s
services, Dick needed to see them first-hand.
Dick and his nephew, Dick Feran, traveled
from Toledo to Cincinnati touring many facilities
before settling on ones to include in his
will.
“Originally, he
hadn’t included Hattie Larlham in
his will because he didn’t know about
it,” Feran said.
Dick first learned about
Hattie Larlham from Feran’s daughter,
Suzi Camp. While completing her nursing
clinicals at the Hattie Larlham Center for
Children with Disabilities (HLCCD), Camp
was very impressed with Hattie Larlham.
“I could tell the staff was very close
with the children and took excellent care
of them,” she said.
Camp said she suggested
Hattie Larlham to Dick because she thought
it was a good fit for him. “He wanted
a place where the staff cared about the
people who stayed there,” she said.
“I knew that he would see that there
[at the HLCCD].”
Even with Camp’s
approval, Dick remained a bit skeptical.
During an unannounced visit to the HLCCD,
Dick became extremely impressed with what
he saw. During his visit, he saw the staff
interacting with the individuals one-on-one.
He saw some individuals preparing for a
swim in the pool and others getting ready
for a field trip and knew that this facility
deserved his money.
“He wanted to give
money so children would have a better life
than his son had because of the places he
had lived in,” Feran said. “I
know the money went to a good cause.”
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