Meet Our Donors

Reezie DeVet: Having a Ripple Effect Through Her Giving

Catherine “Reezie” DeVet had worked in healthcare for much of her career when she joined the Porter Hills corporate board in the 1990s. Still, the concept of a continuing care retirement community, or CCRC, where older adults could receive the level of care they need—all on one campus—was new to her. “I remember being awed by what a CCRC was, and I was honored to be part of that,” says Reezie. “The more I learned, the more I was hooked.”

While serving at that time, the Porter Hills corporate board worked to launch Cook Valley Estates and to construct the Martindill Wellness Center at Porter Hills Village. “I was supportive and thrilled to know people who had the foresight to want to make life better for older adults. As a faith-based organization which welcomed everyone, I was impressed that we were really living out our Christian values.”

Reezie left the Porter Hills Board in 2000, but continued to give for the next 20 years to the organization that had so impressed her. In 2022, when she was asked to join the UMRC-Porter Hills Foundation board, she agreed.

As a nurse, Reezie says she touched many lives, but as a donor, she has the ability to reach even more. “In 1970, people cared enough to create Porter Hills Village to serve older adults then and into the future. They left a legacy of giving. Now 54 years later, it’s our turn to renovate and create a new, more modern campus for Porter Hills Village. The people who will benefit won’t know our names, and we won’t know theirs, but they will know someone cared and will hopefully be inspired to give in turn.”

Reezie, who now serves as the Foundation board chair, compares this to “dropping a pebble in a pond. Your giving expands to others, and those ripples expand even more. It is a powerful way of touching people’s lives. The UMRC-Porter Hills Foundation gives us a meaningful way to do that.”

To make a gift or to learn more about how you can make a powerful difference in the lives of older adults, visit the UMRC-Porter Hills Foundation.