A gift of $1.58 million from the estate of Magdalen and Emil Goergeny of Akron, Ohio has been presented to the Foundation for Physical Therapy. A news release issued by the foundation designates the bequest as one of the largest planned gifts it has ever received.

The release notes that proceeds from the Goergeny estate will be used to support the foundation’s research programs and ultimately, the profession in which Magdalen Goergeny served. The gift has made the Goergenys Foundation “Legacy Partners,” a giving society designed to recognize members and friends who have included the organization in their estate plans.

Barbara Connolly, PT, PhD, EdD, FAPTA, Foundation Board of Trustees president, emphasizes the key role bequests play in the foundation’s ability to fund and publicize physical therapy research, “…With this generous bequest, the Foundation will be able to increase both the amount of research and the number of researchers it can fund at a time when the demand for physical therapy and physical therapy research also is dramatically increasing.”

She adds that the foundation is extremely grateful to the Goergenys and all its Legacy Partners who have thought of the organization when developing their plans.

The release reports that Magdalen Goergeny, PT, became a member of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) in 1972, and was a Life Member at the time of her passing. She passed away in July 2013 at the age of 87, and Emil Goergeny passed away in September 2013 at the age of 96.

Natural-born Hungarian citizens, Emil Goergency served 2 years of mandatory service in the Hungarian Army, and lost sight in both eyes when the city of Kassa was bombed during World War II on June 26, 1941. He married Magdalen in 1944. When the couple moved to Norway, Magdalen Goergeny enrolled in the Oslo Physio-Therapeutical Institute, a division of the University of Oslo, graduating in 1954. The couple emigrated to the United States a year later, and became naturalized citizens in 1960.

Magdalen Goergeny received her US physical therapy instruction at the New York University College of Medicine and the University of Oregon Medical School, among others. She established a practice in 1971 in Portland, Oregon. The couple ultimately put down roots in Akron, Ohio.

Source: The Foundation for Physical Therapy