By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette
The Times Vedette recently received notice of a generous gift to the University of Iowa’s Stead Family Children’s Hospital. The donation of approximately $2.5 million came from the estate of Bill and Barbara Cornish.
The notice, from Dr. Alexander Bassuk, Chair of the Stead Family Department of Pediatrics, stated, in part, “After Barbara’s death, Bill, through his attorney Jim Van Werden, sought to give money for the construction of the new Stead Family Children’s Hospital. Bill, with the aid of the University of Iowa Center for Advancement and Mary Ferentz, toured the project site and decided to make a gift to support the project.”
Van Werden shared that Barbara Cornish died in 2014 while the couple’s only child, Mark, passed in 1988. Bill died in 2022.
“Bill and Barbara wanted to make sure their estate would make a difference in the world,” Van Werden said. “I was happy to be able to play a small part in helping Bill create a legacy that will last far into the future. The world needs more people like Bill and Barbara Cornish from Bayard, Iowa. They were truly ‘Iowans.’ ”