Erie Shriners receives largest donation in its history

June 03--An Ohio carpenter who owned a car lot, lumber yard and variety store has given Erie Shriners Ambulatory Surgery Center and Outpatient Specialty Care Center the largest gift in its 87-year history.

Fred Burchfield, of Sebring, Ohio, bequeathed $14.75 million to Erie Shriners and the Cincinnati Shriners Hospital for Children when he died in 2011. His estate, which took nearly three years to settle, was divided equally between the two facilities, with each receiving $7.375 million.

"This came as a complete surprise," said Erie Shriners spokesman Bob Howden. "We didn't know anything about it in advance."

Burchfield, who was 96 when he died, was a member of the Sebring Masonic Lodge and the Tadmor Shriners of Akron, which supports both Erie and Cincinnati Shriners facilities.

He was not a high-profile member, said Rick Liebel, Erie Shriners development director.

"Fred was single all his life and didn't have any children," Liebel said.

The money has been placed in the Shriners International Endowment Fund and earmarked for the two facilities. The donation was first announced Sunday during Erie Shriners' annual open house.

It will be used for emergency equipment replacement or to pay the costs of treating patients who do not have insurance or who have out-of-pocket expenses. Shriners facilities provide treatment regardless of a family's ability to pay.

Liebel couldn't recall the exact amount of the second-highest donation ever made to Erie Shriners, but said it was "nowhere close to this one."

DAVID BRUCE can be reached at 870-1736 or by e-mail. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ETNbruce.

___

(c)2014 the Erie Times-News (Erie, Pa.)

Visit the Erie Times-News (Erie, Pa.) at www.GoErie.com

Distributed by MCT Information Services