UAB - Planned Giving

Planned Giving

Guin Robinson and Becky Boddie

Guin Robinson Creates Endowed Support Fund to Honor Mother

Rebecca Gaither Boddie is the first woman ever to hold the office of councilwoman on the Ashland, Alabama, city council. She also was the 2004 recipient of the Elizabeth Jenice Riley Memorial Inspiration Award in recognition of her lifelong commitment to improving quality of life for children. Obviously, she is no stranger to leadership or fighting for a cause. But it is her role as a survivor of kidney cancer that inspired her son Guin Robinson to honor her by creating through his estate the Rebecca Gaither Boddie and Darryl Guin Robinson Endowed Support Fund for Renal Cell Carcinoma Research.

"I chose to honor my mother in this way because of her extraordinary determination and strength," says Robinson, who is the institutional development coordinator at Jefferson State Community College and former mayor of Pell City, Alabama. "Her parents, Otto and Kate Willis Gaither, who were both descendants of pioneer families of Clay County, were known for their long and extensive participation in business, social, and community activities. She learned from their example to value the importance of giving back to the community and the true joy that comes from that. Through her many good works, she has shared this joy with me and many others. Her lifelong devotion to community and civic endeavors has continued throughout her battle with cancer. This fund will serve, I hope, as a testament to her service to others, an acknowledgement of her courage and faith, and a source of support in finding a cure."

Christopher Amling, M.D., professor of medicine and director of the Division of Urology at UAB, treated Mrs. Boddie during her illness. "It was certainly my pleasure to treat Becky Boddie," he says. "Knowing her desire to support this program, I believe that she will be extremely pleased with the charitable gift plans that Guin has made in her honor. The endowment fund will be an important tool for generations of UAB researchers to use in their quest to end the death and suffering so often associated with renal cell carcinoma. Endowed funds like this one protect our research from budget fluctuations that can literally stop important scientific discoveries in their tracks—discoveries that lead to better care for patients."

"From the time of my mother's diagnosis in 2006 until today, she has received phenomenal care at UAB," Robinson says. "Her surgeons, Drs. Amling and McGiffin, her oncologist, Dr. Bolger, and the nurses and support personnel have touched our lives in a most profound way. I have on many occasions commented how lucky we are to have UAB, but until my family was touched in this way, I never truly understood those words. I do now."

Amling adds, "The best medical centers are sustained by charitable endowments that allow them to thrive in times of budget cuts and reduced grant funding. This fund is significant in that it will help build upon that foundation for UAB. I am grateful to Guin for his generosity and forethought."

Robinson explains that he wants this tribute to serve as a catalyst for leveraging additional funds to fight this disease. "It is my hope that these funds will be used to help find a cure for renal cell carcinoma, the most common type of kidney cancer. I also want my mother's continuing legacy of courage and selfless giving to serve as an inspiration to others just as it has to me. She has devoted her life to helping others, but it has been her courageous and honorable fight against cancer that has been a culmination of all that she is."

The information on this website is not intended as legal or tax advice. For legal or tax advice, please consult an attorney. Figures cited in examples are for hypothetical purposes only and are subject to change. References to estate and income taxes apply to federal taxes only. State income/estate taxes or state law may impact your results.

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