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Remembering Margaret Alkek
The Alkek legacy shines brightly at UT Health Science Center
Margaret McFarland Alkek was a born advocate.
Even though her life came to an end on March 24 at the age of 89, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston family would undoubtedly agree that Margaret Alkek's compassionate spirit lives on through her family's commitment to help others.
UT Health Science Center at Houston President James T. Willerson, M.D., greets Margaret Alkek, center, and Margaret Alkek Williams at the dedication of the School of Nursing and Student Community Center. Photo by Katy Anderson
The Alkeks are legendary. Margaret Alkek's late husband, self-made multi-millionaire Albert Alkek, was an oilman, rancher and civic leader, who became one of the most generous philanthropists in Texas. Albert and Margaret Alkek worked side by side in the family business and in community service during their 61-year marriage.
Over the years, the Alkek family has given millions of dollars to support the performing arts, education and medical research. Their recent gift of $1 million to the New Frontiers Campaign to fund the Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine for the Prevention of Human Diseases (IMM) is helping to build a new home for the IMM.
An active philanthropist in her own right, Margaret Alkek became chairman of the board of the newly formed Albert and Margaret Alkek Foundation after Albert Alkek's death in 1995. She continued to work alongside her daughter, Margaret Alkek Williams.
"The Margarets," as the mother-daughter duo were affectionately called, were well-known for their outstanding charitable work on behalf of non-profit organizations in Houston and across the state. UT M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Texas A&M University, Baylor College of Medicine, the Houston Grand Opera, the Houston Ballet Foundation and the University of Houston Moores School of Music are just some of the organizations they have supported. Their teamwork earned them a spot in the Texas Philanthropy Hall of Fame in 1999.
James T. Willerson, M.D., president of the UT Health Science Center, spoke kindly of Margaret Alkek's love of community. Willerson holds the Alkek/Williams Distinguished Professorship.
"We knew and loved Margaret Alkek," Willerson said. "She had a heart as big as Texas. She was a remarkable champion for health care and education, and we are eternally grateful to her and her family for their long-standing commitment to the health science center. It's hard to imagine her not being here. This is an enormous loss, and she will be sorely missed."
During the announcement of the distinguished professorship in 2000, Margaret Alkek expressed her appreciation of the health science center and Willerson for carrying on important work that will uncover cures and prevent common human diseases. "Dr. Willerson's dedication to the university, to his research, to his patients, and to saving and improving lives is certainly an inspiration," Alkek said. "We are proud to support both the work he does and the vision he is fulfilling through the Institute of Molecular Medicine."
In addition to establishing the professorship, the Albert and Margaret Alkek Foundation funded the Albert and Margaret Alkek Auditorium at the School of Nursing and Student Community Center and became the school's first lifetime benefactor and advocate of nursing scholarships through PARTNERS, the school's community support organization.
"The School of Nursing and PARTNERS lost a very dear supporter in Margaret Alkek," said Ann Ahuero, PARTNERS chairman. "She was our luncheon honoree in 2001. Speaking to us at that luncheon, Margaret recounted the days when she volunteered as a candy striper while in high school and how she always admired nurses. We will always be reminded of her generosity when we are in the Alkek Auditorium of the new School of Nursing."
A native Houstonian, Margaret Alkek graduated from San Jacinto High School in 1933 and attended UT Austin. After her marriage to Albert Alkek in 1934, she later attended Victoria College, graduating with honors.
Margaret Alkek garnered numerous honors and awards. In 1996, she received an honorary doctorate from St. Mary's University. Four years later, she received the Maurice Hirsch Award for Philanthropy from the National Society of Fund Raising Executives.
"Margaret was a wonderful friend. She truly loved giving," said health science center Development Board member Margaret "Peggy" Barnett, founding chairman of PARTNERS and a close family friend. "She had a real zest for life and lived it absolutely to the fullest."
True to the adage "like mother, like daughter," Margaret Alkek Williams still dedicates her time and talents to health care education and the arts in Houston. An active member of the Development Board, she is vice president and director of the Albert and Margaret Alkek Foundation and a member of the board of trustees at Texas Heart Institute.
Margaret Alkek's grandson, Charles Williams, is president of Chaswil Ltd., M & A Properties Inc., and the Albert and Margaret Alkek Foundation. He is a trustee of Baylor College of Medicine.
His wife, Randa Duncan Williams, serves on the health science center Development Board, the New Frontiers Campaign steering committee and the Leaders of Tomorrow steering committee. She is president of EPCO Inc. She and the Duncan family are also major IMM contributors.
Through the current and future generations of Alkeks and Williamses, Albert and Margaret Alkek's philanthropic vision of bettering Texas and the world lives on.
"We will never forget the hopes and dreams my grandmother and grandfather left with us. They taught us how to develop our own unique interests and to build on the good that has been done through their giving," Charles Williams said. "Our family intends to carry their legacy forward well into the future."
By Jacqueline Preston, Development