Margaret S. Pillsbury Society

An Invitation to Join the Margaret S. Pillsbury Society

The President and Board of Trustees of Concord Hospital established the Margaret S. Pillsbury Society to recognize individuals who choose to support the Hospital's mission through charitable bequests or life-income gifts.

The Society is a tribute to Margaret Sprague Pillsbury. Her legacy in 1899 endowed a free-bed fund for patients unable to pay for their care in the hospital that was built to honor her name.

Before moving to Minneapolis in 1878, Margaret Pillsbury resided in Concord for 26 years. In 1891 her husband, George, gave Concord an extraordinary gift - the funds to build a hospital. He wished it dedicated to Margaret as a very special commemoration of their 50th wedding anniversary.

George Pillsbury's death in 1898 did not diminish Margaret's concern for the hospital bearing her name and for the people it served. A year later, the hospital board was faced with debt and Margaret responded with a generous check. Upon her death in 1901, she left an enduring legacy providing direct aid to those most in need in her former community. Her contribution of $25,000 endowing the free-bed fund was among the largest the trustees ever received.

In 1901, hospital trustee Albert B. Woodworth praised Margaret Pillsbury's selfless contributions in the 18th Annual Report of the Margaret Pillsbury General Hospital. He wrote: "No one could be a nobler example of generous giving than this true woman, who all her life studied the needs of others and constantly denied herself that she might have the more money to give. She had that larger charity, too, that saw and emphasized the good in others..."

Appropriately we now remember Margaret's abundant concern for others by recognizing today's planned gift contributors as members of the Margaret S. Pillsbury Society.

Bequests have accounted for a significant portion of the gifts received by Concord Hospital. The Margaret S. Pillsbury Society provides an opportunity for the caregivers of the Hospital to recognize and express appreciation to community members who have included the Hospital in their will or made a life-income gift naming the hospital as beneficiary.

To Margaret S. Pillsbury Society members, you have our enduring gratitude. To those who are considering joining the Society, may Margaret's own legacy inspire you.