Supporters Like You

Bruce Mackey is a loyal supporter and chairman of the Moffitt Foundation Legacy of Life Society.

When Bruce Mackey lost his beloved bride, Loyce, in 2012, despite his sorrow and grief, he had no choice but to see it as a new chapter opening. With her dying wish for Bruce, Loyce had made sure of that.

After battling breast cancer for more than 20 years, Loyce suffered injuries from a fall that left her bedridden and ultimately took her life. Before she passed, Loyce, overcome with gratitude for the care she received at Moffitt, asked Bruce to devote himself to the cancer center.

“There’s a special caring spirit at Moffitt that comes down from the top, a spirit that we didn’t find at the other famous cancer centers that we saw before coming to Moffitt,” Bruce explains.

Since then, Bruce has fully committed to honoring Loyce’s wishes and her memory. Leaving a comfortable life full of friends and activities in New Smyrna Beach, Bruce moved to a Tampa retirement community near Moffitt Cancer Center. After more than five years of service and nearly 1,300 hours of volunteering through the Patient and Family Advisory Program, the Fall Prevention Committee and almost a dozen other staff committees and policy groups at Moffitt, Bruce is stepping up and opening yet another new chapter by serving as the first chair of the Moffitt Foundation’s Legacy of Life Society.

This special group of Moffitt supporters has made the incredible decision to leave a gift to the cancer center in their wills, trusts or other estate plans. After Loyce passed, one of the first ways Bruce honored her memory was by establishing a legacy gift to Moffitt in her name.

“The majority of my estate is going to nonprofits, and Moffitt is getting the biggest share,” says Bruce, a retired insurance executive.

As a volunteer, Bruce sees firsthand how gifts like his have a huge impact on the patients he meets. Whether the gift is for care or research, he knows this support makes a meaningful difference for families facing some of the most difficult chapters in their lives.

“I know most people can’t volunteer or dedicate their time to Moffitt like I have, but if they care about patients and finding cures for cancer, they need to know they can make a real difference with this kind of gift—usually more than they ever could when they write a check,” he says.

Kelly Gicale, planned giving director at the Moffitt Foundation, is thrilled to have Bruce as an ambassador for the Society.

“Bruce has an intimate understanding of the patient and caregiver experience, but he also recognizes how important funding is for finding the treatments and cures that will benefit our loved ones in the future,” she explains.

While Moffitt has made great strides recently with new immunotherapy treatments, cutting-edge targeted therapies and prevention efforts, the need for funding will unfortunately only grow in the future.

“Florida continues to have the second highest incidence of new cancer patients per year in the nation,” Kelly reports. ” This year alone, an estimated 135,000 Floridians will have their lives changed by a cancer diagnosis.”

The Legacy of Life Society is open to supporters who have included Moffitt in an estate plan, and gifts of any size are welcome. For those who have already done so, Kelly urges them to contact her to share their story and learn more about the benefits of joining the Society.

As a member and now chair of the Society, Bruce knows how rewarding it is to be a part of this group and Moffitt’s mission overall.

“I think giving back is the most important thing,” he says, “and Loyce wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.”

Joan and Ed Tutun visited Moffitt in 1986, and Ed continues to keep that connection alive with regular donations and a gift in his will.

Ed’s late wife was referred to Moffitt Cancer Center for diagnosis and testing shortly after its opening.

“During that visit, I remember sitting next to an older couple whose son was being seen,” Ed says. “The doctor came out and shared the news that their son’s leg needed to be amputated because the cancer had spread.”

Thankfully, Joan received far happier news. Her bone scans showed no signs of cancer.

“We were, and I am still, so impressed with Moffitt,” Ed says. He has made a donation every year since, and more recently named Moffitt Cancer Center in his estate plan to receive a specific sum of money. He also established a charitable remainder trust to support his nieces and nephews for the remainder of their lives, after which Moffitt will receive a portion of the remaining trust assets.

“When I was young, I remember my mother sitting down once a month to write contributions to charitable organizations,” Ed says. “This was during the Depression … she would send $1 to two or three charities because she believed in giving back. This always stuck with me.”

Ed has certainly followed his mother’s example and he is proud to be able to give back to Moffitt.

“People are living longer because of the care Moffitt provides, ” he says.