Carole Epstein’s Legacy

The Carole Epstein Foundation is pleased to be here today to recognize that her Funds are being used to benefit women with Ovarian Cancer. The members of the Carole Epstein Foundation are her sister Wendy, and her very good friends Angela Lipper, Candace Hooden and myself, Gwen Vineberg.

Carole and I became very good friends because of circumstances, Ovarian Cancer. We had this disease in common. Unfortunately, our friendship did not have a chance to last a very long time. It began with our first meeting in our support group, The Ovarian Support Circle, and it lasted until the day Carole died. In spite of the very short time that we had together, our friendship was serious; it was profound.

Carole was a writer of mysteries and so she always had stories to tell during our many lunches at the Bistro on the Avenue. She began every lunch with a diet Coke and a cigarette! And, because she was once a model, she was always particular about and paid serious attention to what she wore and to what she ate. However, above all, she was a very sensitive woman who understood well the pain and suffering of others.

Our conversations often focused on the difficulties that faced women living with Ovarian Cancer and we were distressed at the very slow progress that research took into this horrific disease.

One day, during one of our many lunches at the Bistro, Carole asked me to become a member of her Foundation. I was amazed. I told her that my interest was education; I was not interested in fund raising! She told me that my “assignment” would be to make sure that the funds earmarked for Ovarian Cancer were well placed.

Carole told me that each member of the Foundation had a specific task. Carole was a very intelligent woman and we knew that what she expected of us had been well thought out. We have very strong personalities, but each decision that we make for the funds of the Carole Epstein Foundation is a result of our research, our questions and our discussions with those who are to receive these Funds.

The Carole Epstein Foundation takes its responsibility very seriously. We know precisely what Carole wanted and our aim is to honour her memory by being true to her standards and not wavering from her ideals.

>>read more about the generous gifts of the Carole Epstein Foundation