Edward Breuer’s Gift of Gratitude

When Nancy Breuer was settling her father Edward’s estate following his death in 2021, she executed his wishes—including one specific request: that she make a gift and write a letter of gratitude to Valley Hospice in memory of the care his wife Lois received prior to her death more than 20 years earlier.

Edward and Lois Breuer lived in Glen Rock, where they raised their family. Lois was the secretary at the local library and a volunteer at Valley’s Kurth Cottage, while Edward served in a national role with what was then the Leukemia Society.

In 1999 Lois—then 76—was diagnosed with an inoperable glioblastoma on the brain stem. She was treated with radiation, but with no surgical intervention available, her family turned to Valley Hospice for care in her final months. Lois passed just five months after her diagnosis.

“When my mother was ill, my father knew that The Valley Hospital and Valley Hospice would provide her with the best possible care,” Nancy said. “The hospice nurses who cared for my mother and supported all of us through this difficult season were helpful, empathetic, and competent. We could not have made it through those awful months without them.”

In his thoughtful estate planning, Edward revisited his will shortly before his death at the age of 99 and increased his support. His gratitude for Valley Hospice’s services did not waver in all those years, and he hoped to support other families traveling the same path he and his family navigated more than two decades earlier.

We are grateful to Edward for his planned gift and to all of our supporters who generously make plans to include Valley in the legacy they leave behind.