Leadership From the Heart

With a lifetime legacy of giving their talent, time and treasure, or the “three T’s” as they call it, Mary Joy and Jerre Stead continue to create pathways of innovation in healthcare for communities across our nation.

Their spirit of giving started at an early age through their grandparents’ teachings and philanthropy in action. With strong examples of charitable work on both sides of their families, Mary Joy and Jerre created their own family traditions of hard work and generous giving. For 50 years they have actively changed the landscape of healthcare with a focus on Alzheimer’s, mental health, children’s medicine and now novel cancer treatments.

The Steads recently committed more than $1 million, the inaugural gift to HonorHealth Research Institute’s new Center of Innovation through the creation of the Stead Family Innovation Fund. Through their generous contribution to the Center, HonorHealth will expand treatment options for cancer patients beyond the limited offerings of chemotherapy, radiation and surgery. The Center will serve as a leading hub for perfecting novel medical technologies and translating them into new treatments and ways to detect and even cure cancer. Their visionary spirit in supporting new and advancing medical technology will help patients locally and globally as the research can be shared across medical communities.

“We’ve invested over the years in organizations that drive leadership and work to enhance the quality of life for all,” Jerre reflects. “So our investment is in people – the people who lead transformational healthcare research at HonorHealth and the patients who need healing and hope.”

HonorHealth Foundation president and CEO Jared Langkilde holds the Steads in high regard.

“As a partner trusted with enabling their philanthropic vision, we are honored to walk beside Mary Joy and Jerre to enhance as many lives as possible,” Jared says. “We share their commitment to medical innovation, world-class healthcare for all communities and heartful leadership.”

Thousands of HonorHealth patients to come will benefit from the Stead’s generosity without even knowing it. And that’s just the way they like it.