Honoring our children—and all children—through our giving

Joan Hardy and her late husband, Buzz (Leesley), have been longtime supporters and generous donors to Children’s Wisconsin. In their early 50s, they included Children’s in their wills and became Guardian Society members. They also established two endowed funds in honor of their kids: The Anne Barker Hardy Fund for Cystic Fibrosis and The Jim Hardy Memorial Lectureship in Mental Health.

Anne died at 23 of cystic fibrosis in 1980, and Jim died of suicide at age 44 in 1999, after being diagnosed with schizophrenia. “Buzz and I always knew that at Children’s our kids would be taken care of in the best possible way.”

Joan has a contagious energy and passion for contributing to society in every way she can. Originally from Des Moines, Iowa, she graduated from Smith College. Buzz was a real estate developer—he ran the company started by his grandfather in the 1890s.

Joan strengthened their ties with Children’s when she became the first patient family member to sit on both the hospital and Foundation boards in the ’70s through the ’90s, actively serving when the hospital moved to the current location. “Because I spent a lot of time at the hospital with Anne, I was able to see firsthand what was happening, so I wanted to advocate for the well-being of kids with chronic conditions and for all kids. Children’s is an amazing organization. The leadership has always been energetic and original in its thinking. I tried to give emotionally and energetically while I served.”

“Even in our 30s we thought that when we had money we would support children. And having two kids with chronic diseases meant that we could not only help them but help other kids and families to make sure they would get the support they needed, not only physically but emotionally. It’s so hard when you have kids with these problems—families and marriages suffer—and it’s wonderful to see that wraparound support for kids and families with chronic illnesses is available at Children’s.”

You can honor a loved one and support the mission of Children’s Wisconsin with a gift from your estate. Please feel free to contact Kelly Sachse at (414) 266-6121 or ksachse@childrenswi.org to learn more about your options.