Hospital guild celebrates anniversary

Providence St. Joseph Medical Center Guild celebrated its 65th anniversary with a luncheon featuring a history lesson and lively music on Nov. 19 at Lakeside Golf Club.

President Kathleen Marsden and event co-chairwomen Karen Barragan and Terry Campbell welcomed the more than 50 people attending the event, including Burbank Mayor Jess Talamantes, who presented the guild with a proclamation summarizing the guild’s major contributions to the Burbank medical center.

Other committee members assisting in the event were Maria Balke, Marian Enos, Sharon Grooms, Rhoberta Kerr, Janice Khoury, Judy McDowell, Sharon Reid, Patt Scully and Maureen Walsh.

Among the contributions mentioned by the mayor was the completion of the guild’s pledge of $1 million to the Roy and Patricia Disney Family Cancer Center. Others included completion of a $1-million pledge to the building of the new Emergency and Cardiac Care Facilities in 1981; the donation of funds to the Alcoholism and Chemical Dependency Service in 1984; and completion of the $2-million pledge to the construction of the new Comprehensive Cancer Center in 1994.

“I do hereby congratulate Providence St. Joseph Medical Center Guild for 65 years of generous donations to pertinent causes that service the needs of people throughout the world,” Talamantes said.

Other activities throughout the celebration included a glimpse of the guild’s history delivered by Anne Laughlin, charter member; a special prayer offered by Sister Rose Byrne, Sisters of Providence representative; and entertainment by Henry Samuels.

The 88-year-old Samuels danced, sang and played the chromatic harmonica featuring show tunes and standards of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and the Gershwin Brothers.