Irene Goldman and David Sato have been married for more than 30 years—long enough to find each other often saying what the other is thinking. One of the shared activities they have found most meaningful has been serving their community by volunteering at Torrance Memorial Medical Center.
Goldman started volunteering at the hospital 10 years ago, after she retired from her career as an administrative assistant.
“I had been working for 45 years, and I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with my free time,” she recalls. “At my last job, I passed the hospital every day on the way to work. And I said to myself, ‘Well, let me try this.’”
She liked it so much that she convinced Sato to join her when he retired three years later. Goldman volunteered at the information desk and worked as a hospital escort—discharging patients, delivering flowers and escorting visitors to patients’ rooms. Sato also served as a hospital escort, and he volunteered in the gift shop. After spending his career working in retail, he loved the interaction with patients, their families and the staff.
For a portion of the time they volunteered, Goldman served as the first vice-president of hospital services for the volunteer Auxiliary board, and Sato served as program chairperson, treasurer and then president.
Goldman and Sato don’t have children, and when they were considering what to do with their estate, they could think of no better recipient than Torrance Memorial. “We plan to leave a major part of our estate to support the hospital and help benefit all of the South Bay community,” Sato says.
After his mother passed away last year, they decided to move to Laughlin, Nevada, where they built a home and enjoy being closer to the casinos they love. It was actually at a casino where they met years ago.
The pair formed strong relationships with other volunteers and staff in their Torrance Memorial family, and they do miss them. They came back to the South Bay to see friends in May and made sure to visit folks at the hospital.
“We made a specific stop at the foundation because we feel that closeness with them,” Goldman says.
Although they live in another state, their volunteer commitments haven’t ended. They volunteer at their local hospital in Laughlin, and they also plan to come back this November to help out with Torrance Memorial’s Holiday Festival. When they lived in the South Bay, Goldman spent some time in the boutique workshop, creating garlands, wreaths, ornaments and other items for the festival, and she is excited to come back and volunteer at the event again.
“[While volunteering] I made my first-ever Christmas wreath,” she recalls. “I have a picture of me—a Jewish girl—with a Christmas wreath. That was interesting for me,” she says with a laugh.
The couple say their wonderful experiences as volunteers and the relationships they formed as a result made a big impact on them.
“We’re part of their family and they’re part of our family, so it is that type of relationship we established,” Sato says. “That’s why we decided to give what we’re giving.”
How to Make a Bequest
Making a bequest through your will or living trust is the simplest of planned gifts. With simple language included in your will or trust, you can support Torrance Memorial after you leave this world, and your heirs also enjoy a tax benefit. Contact your estate planning attorney for guidance in reviewing and updating your will/trust or Torrance Memorial’s Office of Planned Giving. Sandy VandenBerge, director of Planned Giving, can be reached at 310-784-4843 or sandy.vandenberge@tmmc.com. Please also let us know if you have included Torrance Memorial in your estate plan, so we can acknowledge your advance planning and include you in our Heritage Society.
By Tabitha Hogue
