A Tribute to Mary Woodard Lasker

When we think of what is good and right
in this world, we think of Mary Woodard
Lasker. When Mrs. Lasker died on February
21st, at the age of 93, she was universally
described as a woman of vision, compassion,
elegance, and beauty. A philanthropist with
limitless determination, Mrs. Lasker was
known for her enduring commitment to

 

emerging research program. They insisted that funding be given
to accredited scientific and clinical investigators in recognized,
responsible institutions across the country. Mrs. Lasker offered
to hire and pay professional fundraisers in 1945 if 25% of all
funds raised were earmarked for research. Her offer was accepted
and this percentage has been the minimum the American Cancer
Society has spent on research ever since.

Mr. and Mrs. Lasker had already established (in 1942)
the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation to raise

 

support new and important medical research.

So extraordinary was Mrs. Lasker's
championship of medical research that she
was presented with the Presidential Medal of
Freedom. Congress named a center at the
National Institutes of Health the Mary Woodard
Lasker Center for Health Research and
Education. And she received a Congressional
Gold Medal for her humanitarian contributions
in medical research and education, as well
as for her extraordinary efforts on behalf of
urban beautification and the fine arts.

Mrs. Lasker’s love for parks and
gardens was legendary. She helped fund
hundreds of tree and bulb planting projects,
in New York City and Washington, DC. Legend has it that some
years she was second only to the Queen of England in the quantity
of tulip bulbs she ordered from Holland. In 1985, Mrs. Lasker
was honored with a new variety of pink tulip named for her.
(It will be available for purchase this fall.)

Mrs. Lasker’s passion for urban beautification was matched
by her passion for her work with the American Cancer Society,
of which she was Honorary Chairman of the Board. When she
died, the Society’s officers, Dr. Irvin D. Fleming (President)
and Larry K. Fuller (Chairman of the Board), called her “our
pioneer co-founder.” They went on to say, “She may have
contributed more to medical research in the United States than
any other citizen.”

In an interview 10 years ago, Mrs. Lasker explained how
she became involved with the Society: “In 1943 my housekeeper
was diagnosed as having cancer of the uterus and the doctors
said that nothing could be done. I was shocked. I learned that
there was practically no research. I went to the American Cancer
Society, which was then the American Society to Control Cancer,
and found that the Women’s Field Army was raising about $240,000
a year. The Society was doing nothing about research. There
wasn't enough money.”

She spoke with her husband, advertising executive Albert
Lasker. He called on the president of NBC and soon two of
the network’s most popular radio shows, “Fibber McGee and
Molly” and “Bob Hope,” gave serious messages about the need
for money for cancer research. Meanwhile, Mary Lasker was able
to interest Reader’s Digest in the same message. As Mrs. Lasker
said, “The checks poured into the Society, so many they had
to send the envelopes to a bank and have the tellers open them.”

The Laskers became the driving force behind the Society's

 

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awareness about major diseases and the need
for increased research funding. In 1944, they
began a tradition that continues to this day
to honor physicians and scientists for
outstanding achievements in research. So
many of those they honored went on to become
Nobel Laureates, that receiving a Lasker Award
came to be thought of as a predictor of who
would win the Nobel Prize.

The Laskers believed the only way to
speed progress against cancer was to involve
the government more deeply in funding
research. So, Mrs. Lasker began to lobby the
federal government to spend more on research.

After Mr. Lasker's death in 1952, Mary Lasker continued
to have a regular presence in Washington. She persuaded Congress
to budget more money for research into cancer, heart disease,
mental illness, blindness, and other major killing and crippling
diseases.

One of Mrs. Lasker's greatest achievements came in 1971,
with passage of the National Cancer Act. She lobbied Congress
tirelessly to pass the Act, which restructured the National Cancer
Institute and dramatically increased its funding.

We in the American Cancer Society like to think of Mrs.
Lasker as “our own.” But other institutions and causes also
claimed her as advocate, friend, and supporter.

When Mrs. Lasker died, the dean of Harvard University’s
School of Public Health wrote in The New York Times, “Mrs.
Lasker was an extraordinary woman, who transformed our nation’s
capacity for scientific discovery.”

The dean of Health Sciences at Columbia University wrote,
“Her love of beauty and advocacy for science endeared her to
heads of nations and people from all walks of life.”

And executives of the American Foundation for AIDS
Research wrote, “She was a dedicated supporter of biomedical
research to relieve the ills of the body and she believed in
art and the beauty of nature to nurture the soul. To these she
dedicated her long and beautiful life. We shall always be grateful
to her.”

And we in the American Cancer Society will also remain
grateful to Mary Lasker, as we appreciate what she left behind:
A legacy of parks and gardens that brighten our urban landscapes,
and a legion of survivors of cancer and other diseases who might
not have had a chance to live were it not for the unparalleled
vision and efforts of one woman. - Cynthia A. Gelb