George was a professor and research physiologist at the University of Florida for over thirty years.  He taught renal and digestive physiology to hundreds of first year medical and dental students.  He truly loved teaching and relating to these students over the many years he taught.

George grew up in South Bend, Indiana where he was a proud graduate of South Bend Reilly.  He attended Murray State University in Kentucky, Marion University in Indianapolis and received his Ph.D. from Indiana University.  There he met and married Alison and together they raised three children…Jeff, Elizabeth and Rob.  George was a loving papa to Tyler, Carley, Matt, Evan, Bella and Ryan.

He loved to travel.  He began his career as a professor at the University of Hawaii where the family lived in Kailua.  He then moved to Gainesville, Florida where he lived the rest of his life.  Every year he would take a “business” trip to a different country.  He either taught students or shared his research in almost every country in the world.  While there he always took time to explore the country and get to know the people.

When not teaching or traveling, he played tennis every day.  The 300 Club was his second home.  He played with anyone who wanted to hit tennis balls.  After retirement, if not playing tennis, George was truly altruistic, helping others less fortunate.  He had many, many projects that he started and completed.  He loved to go into the different neighborhoods and give books and stuffed animals to children.  He often took groups of young mothers to the store to purchase healthy food.  He drove those without cars to their jobs or to receive medical care.  He received great joy and fulfillment from all his altruistic activities.

Personally, Dr. Rubin is remembered as an Dr. Melvin Rubin, husband of Altrusan, Lorna Rubin, was an ophthalmologist at the University oof Florida Medical School. He was greatly appreciated by his patients for his care and competence.  One of the honors he was most proud of was to be selected as the 2012 Alumnus of the Year by the UCSF medical school class.

Personally, Dr. Rubin is remembered as an extraordinary leader and contributor to arts and music in the local community, which was illustrative of his love of beauty.

Dr. Rubin and Lorna were the parents of three children, the grandparents of seven grandchildren and great grandparents of one more little one.

Our good friend, Gene Liddon, came to Altrusa House as one of its most faithful workers and supporters by way of Easter Seals Florida.  Gene had spent many years (over 50 years total) as a hard-working volunteer for the Easter Seals organization and joined Altrusa House as a member of the Easter Seals at Altrusa House Advisory Board.  This group was recruited by Easter Seals and charged with advising the staff of Altrusa House on program as well as promoting Altrusa House through fundraising and other activities in cooperation with the Altrusa House Board of Trustees.  After the demise of the Easter Seals at Altrusa House Advisory Board, Gene stayed on as a member of the Altrusa House Board of Trustees and could be counted on to attend and work on just about every activity from that point on.  Gene and his little truck was a constant!

Professionally, Gene served as Director of Building and Grounds for the City of Gainesville for 25 years and then opened Shiloh Oaks Nursery in Micanopy.  He specialized in growing and planting Live Oak trees and many of his oaks can be seen throughout the area in public spaces and private gardens.

Gene was a UF graduate in Forestry and, of course, a faithful Gator fan.  His many volunteer activities in addition to Altrusa House are too numerous to list but his years on the City of Gainesville Beautification Board and his contributions for so many years to Camp Challenge, the Easter Seals camp designed for people with disabilities and special needs, particularly stand out  He was honored with the naming of The Gene Liddon Trail at Camp Challenge in Sorrento, FL  in recognition for his contributions and work there and his service to Altrusa House will remain in our memories and in the placement of a brick in the Garden of Memories at Altrusa House.

During 1991–92, Altrusa Club of Gainesville established a long term goal to open an adult day health care facility in our community. Over $60,000 was initially raised by the Club toward the goal to establish Altrusa House as a future adult day health care center. During 1994–95, an agreement was negotiated with the City of Gainesville to transfer the property at Greentree Park for the construction of Altrusa House. During 1995–96, a groundbreaking ceremony for Altrusa House was held on November 19, with construction scheduled to begin in 1997. An “Open House” was held during the construction phase where members signed building studs and placed a sealed time capsule that was opened 20 years later in October, 2018. Altrusa House opened its door to accept clients in October, 1998 and the dream was realized. 

We honor the Altrusa House Founding Board of Trustees for their vision, leadership, hard work and commitment to service for the benefit of our community and beyond.

Norma can be best described as a “classy” lady.  Always impeccably dressed, Norma was the very picture of calm graciousness.  She pursued her life as a housewife, mother, grandmother and even great-grandmother with never-tiring purpose.  Norma was known as a great cook and hostess, and she also used her same life traits in her professional life as a teacher.

Norma, Florida-born, married Jerome, her husband and partner of some 72 years, and early in their marriage earned a Ph.T. (a shortened and popular term at the time for “pushing hubby through” applied to women who assisted their husbands through college) when he attended U.F.  Later in life she completed her own education, earning a Masters with Honors in Education also at U.F.  Career-wise, she taught business and vocational skills at Gainesville High School and also coordinated the Competency-Based Education program known as CBE.  Norma taught at least one of our current very active Altrusans, acting as her sponsor and mentor.

To our great fortune, Norma was an extremely active Altrusan, both on the local level and at the District Three level.  She maintained her support and interest in Altrusa House until the end of her life.  Details of her involvement with Altrusa and Altrusa House can be found in her earlier tribute in this book entitled “Honoring Norma Hoffman”.

Norma and Jerome produced three children:  Linda Henderson, Jay, and Ervin (Keith), 9 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren to whom she was a loving and active “Nanny”.  She inspired Linda and Linda’s husband, John, and their 3 sons with the same enthusiasm for Altrusa and Altrusa House that she and Jerome shared.

The term “a life well lived” can well be applied to Norma.  She is missed by many.

Eva Louise (“Eve”) Coletta Pringle, 97, passed away peacefully at Haven Hospice in Gainesville, Florida on October 20, 2020 with her son Gray at her side. While she slowly grew increasingly frail, she was in reasonably good health until a stroke in September. Previous mini strokes had caused memory loss, and for the last 5 years, she spent weekdays enjoying a variety of activities at Altrusa House, where she made many friends. Gray is grateful for the staff’s loving care.

Eva was proud of her Italian and French-Canadian heritage. She was hard-working, organized, self-confident, and feisty. She worked as a waitress well into her 70s at restaurants including the Elks Club, Pete Reynard’s, and Cafe on the Beach. She would tell others, “Get off your dead ass and get to work.” She managed the family’s finances. She was an avid gardener and working beside her led Gray to a career in horticulture. She believed that she could do anything. She did body work on her car and single handedly painted the exterior of the house multiple times. She was still mowing her own lawn in her 80s. She drank coffee constantly, and servers at her favorite restaurants knew it always had to be hot but not “too potent.” She voted only for Democrats.

Ms. Eva enjoyed the creative activities, games, trivia, movies, travel & outdoor activities. Her smile was contagious. But she loved to listen to the musical performances at Altrusa House. Frank Sinatra was her “buddy”. She knew the words to many songs and enjoyed singing along. She was always concerned with her hair and looking her best. Ms. Eva was frequently telling us to use “Common Sense.” She was always concerned that all staff and clients “Stay Busy.”  Ms. Eva is greatly missed at Altrusa House.

Dick (Richard Allen) Phillips, husband of Altrusan Marilyn Mitchell, was born February 4^th, 1940 in San Fernando, CA.  He remained there until joining the Army.  Dick served as an MP for four years.  Upon leaving the army as a sergeant, he moved to Lompoc, CA where he was a city police officer.  Then, Dick moved to San Jose, CA and remained in law enforcement. 

Marilyn and Dick met in 1974 and married in 1979.  They continued living in San Jose until their retirement in 2004.  After much traveling and research, they chose Gainesville, FL as our retirement destination. Here they enjoyed traveling both nationally and internationally.  Dick particularly liked taking a relaxing cruise from time-to-time.  At home in Gainesville, Dick & Marilyn enjoyed fishing, golfing, gardening – all the normal retirement activities. But, they particularly enjoyed meeting wonderful people and making new friends.  Moving cross-country to a new community, without knowing a single-soul, was an adventure they enjoyed and are grateful to have had. Dick was a good, kind, and brave man. He will always be missed.

Marilyn joined Altrusa, when invited, in 2006.  Like all Altrusans, she contributes to all our activities benefiting our community and world.  She served as Chair of the International Relations Committee, as Altrusa Club Treasurer, and because of her family obligations of late is serving as Gainesville Altrusa Foundation Treasurer.

When you approach the front door of Altrusa House, you will notice a plaque set in the wall to the right which tells you that our building was built by Wallace Construction and was designed by D- MC². D- MC² is the company behind the architecture and design of Altrusa House and is the company co-owned and co-operated by our own Susan Davis-McCarter and her husband, Robert who was at that time Director of the UF School of Architecture.  Susan was an enthusiastic Altrusan and designed and supervised the construction of Altrusa House pro bono.  Without the hard work of Susan it is entirely possible that our House might not exist.

Susan received her Bachelor of Environmental Design in Architecture from North Carolina State University, Cum Laude.  She came to Gainesville as a “trailing spouse,” which explains her choice of professional work in a private company.  Her work took her to many parts of the State, and we were so very fortunate that she added Altrusa House to her work load.  To date, Susan’s work includes all aspects of planning, design, and construction supervision of commercial office, educational/institutional, healthcare, laboratory design, hospitality, municipal/government, parking structures and residential/housing.  She currently lives in St. Louis, MO, and is privately employed by the firm of Tao and Lee Associates, Inc. in her chosen field.

Personally, Susan is the very proud mother of Katie who was just a youngster when Susan lived in Gainesville. Susan’s special love was travel to destinations local and abroad which has given her the opportunity to understand how architecture, spaces, and the environment impact the culture of the inhabitants.  Susan and husband, Robert lived in Rome, Italy for 9 months and they drove through every country between Finland, Spain and Greece.  She says it informs how she practices architecture and work with her clients.

Quoting from Susan: “I miss the landscape and springs around Gainesville but the thing I miss the most are the people, especially my Altrusa friends.  It was a pleasure to work on various committees and endeavors with women who were smart, interesting, and really knew how to get things done.  It was an honor to be the architect for Altrusa House.  The Altrusa club was one of my best clients.  The depth of knowledge shared with me on adult health day care was invaluable and the collaboration between all parties is something I remember with fondness and gratitude.  Seeing the guests and staff going about their daily routines in the beautiful garden setting has been such a gift to me.”

Susan was a gift to us.  She combined her talent and hard work with grace and enthusiasm and it was a pleasure for all of us to know her.  Susan served on the original Altrusa House Board of Trustees and her knowledge which she willingly shared was a very important ingredient in the success of the building and operation of Altrusa House.

William (Bill) Andrews was a member of the first Altrusa House Board of Trustees and lent his legal expertise and his prestige as a former member of the Florida House of Representatives to our initial Board. 

Bill was a native Floridian, a graduate of the University of Florida Law School and a long time resident of Gainesville, from the time that he and his wife, Dodie moved here when Bill began his attendance at U.F. until his passing in 2021, living away only for the few years that he served in the United States Army.  Upon his discharge from in Army in 1959, he joined the law firm of James C. Adkins, Jr. in Gainesville and later was associated in the practice of law with Jack Lowry, Steve Lewalien, Phil Delaney until Andrews and Delaney merged with Scruggs & Carmichael, P.A., a group known locally for its connection to many historical cases and individuals.

Bill was a member of Florida Blue Key during his sojourn at the Law School, served in the Florida House of Representatives from 1966 until 1978 and served, in addition to Altrusa House, many community and State organizations.  Thus, we proudly welcomed him to our first Altrusa House Board of Trustees to which he brought diversity to our almost all female board as well as his well known local reputation.  Bill was always available with his good legal advice and his willingness to assist.

In the beginning—if Justine Vaughen had the vision, Donna Sorensen supplied the sparkplug.  Thus, Altrusa House was born.  Donna brought her enthusiasm, organizational skills and her position as the wife of the Provost of U.F., Andrew Sorensen, which put altogether, culminated in what became Altrusa House.  No detail was too small or too big for Donna.  Or for that matter too undignified including donning a chicken costume and prancing around the front of Westside Park to call attention to one of our first big fundraising events, a chicken dinner, for an adult day health care center which did not yet bare the name Altrusa House.  Whatever the event or whatever work was needed, Donna was always there and Andrew shared equally in her enthusiasm for Altrusa House and was very helpful in all that Donna did.

From the early days of our search for a few rooms to rent, to our decision to build a freestanding facility, to the search for a proper location for our building, Donna was always there. 

Donna’s educational background included a B.A. in Chemistry from Wheaton College, MA, a M.A.T. Chemistry from Wesleyan University, Connecticut, and an M.S. Nutrition from Cornell University, N.Y.  Her professional background included Chemist Polaroid Corp., a chemistry teacher and a dietitian.  She was employed as a dietitian during her sojourn in Gainesville.

In Donna’s words, “I was married to Andrew for 42 wonderful years during which we had the privilege of being on many wonderful university campuses.  It was this nomadic academic life which brought us to the University of Florida and me to Altrusa.  Marilyn Nye was the realtor who helped us find a house and who brought me to my first Altrusa meeting.  I immediately knew I was with the most impressive group of women I had ever met.  My involvement with Altrusa and Altrusa House and the friendships made defined my 6 years in Gainesville.”

Also from Donna:  “Working on the Altrusa House Project with so many people willing to give so much of their time and resources was inspirational and transformative.  I am so grateful to have been a part of it.”

Donna has the honor of being the first recipient of the Altrusan of the Year Award and it was a well deserved honor.

Donna and Andrew were parents to two sons, Aaron and Benjamin, and had five grandchildren.

It was with much regret that we saw the Sorensens leave Gainesville—Andrew to become the president of the University of Alabama and then the president of the University of South Carolina and Donna to become the First Lady of the two institutions.  However, she left us with a great project to continue and an example of what good organization and much enthusiasm could accomplish.

Esther Morgan was steeped in politics in a political family in North Carolina, but eschewed that lifestyle to come to Florida where she spent 52 years as a classroom teacher and education professor at the University of Florida.

Back in the 1950’s she founded the first class for handicapped children in Daytona Beach  which became a national model. She was a Charter Member of Delta Kappa Gamma Society International and was a recipient of the Gainesville Woman of Distinction Award. Esther was a much-loved and respected  professor in the College of Education and retired with Emeritus status.

Esther was President of the Woman’s Club of Gainesville and was President of the Gainesville Altrusa Club from 1980-1981, during which time our club received the Mamie L. Bass Award for the Camp Crystal project.

Esther is credited with ‘Saving Camp Crystal’, a facility owned by the Alachua County School Board dedicated to camping and outdoor activities, which was threatened with closure due to lack of funding.  She spearheaded a Coalition of Gainesville Citizens and our Altrusa Club to form a group called ‘Save Camp Crystal’.  Freddie Dobson says, ‘She personally attended other meetings of clubs, churches, schools, City and County meetings and urged them to join forces to prevent the sale of Camp Crystal. Hers was the voice that kept the public aware of the value of Camp Crystal as a natural resource’.  She frequently travelled with Freddie on Freddie’s official visits as Governor of District Three and loved to visit her family in North Carolina. And it was during this time that our  Altrusa Club started providing trunks with items needed for campers who were not able to provide them for themselves. A cabin in Camp Crystal was dedicated to her in 2003.

Esther Morgan contributed much to education in Florida, our local community and above all, our Altrusa Club.

These donors are the ones shown on the lovely carved tree displayed on the wall of the foyer of Altrusa House. 

These include the Altrusans that participated in the pledge drive conducted at the Altrusa Club at the birth of Altrusa House and individual community members and organizations that contributed so much to the building of the beautiful building of which we are so very proud.

Every disc, the symbol of a leaf on the tree, represents a donation ranging from One Hundred to Five Thousand dollars.  Please note there are lots of little discs!  Unfortunately, some of the discs have faded over the years and cannot be read but our appreciation of these donors will certainly not fade nor the good their donations accomplished.

The area symbolizing the roots of the tree recognizes cash donations, materials or services valued at Ten Thousand dollars or more.  Our generous individuals listed are:  Tom and Winifred Dobson, Drs. R. M. Fry and Justine Vaughen, Paul and Polly Doughty, and Mr. and Mrs. Chun Yan Li, who donated the building in Hawthorne which we were able to sell for Twenty-five Thousand dollars.

Foremost in services are Altrusan Susan Davis-McCarter and Robert McCarter, the architects who designed Altrusa House pro bono.  Susan also expertly carried out all the necessary details of the supervision of the construction of our House. 

The organizations listed include the City of Gainesville who gave us the property on which we built, Altrusa International of Gainesville, who’s various committees and other activities contributed so much (this was in addition to the massive garage sales), Butler Enterprises, Shands Hospital, the Gainesville Woman’s Club, the Rotary of Gainesville Foundation ($25,000 from the proceeds of their Wild Game Feast), Belk, Inc., AvMed, Inc., Janirve Foundation and finally, the Dept. of Transportation of the State of Florida.

So much help from so many!  That was and is the secret of the success of Altrusa House for which we and the past, present, and future clients are so grateful.