Yaggy Society Member Leaves Legacy at GBMC

In 1999, Frank Liebman thanked GBMC for caring for his beloved wife, Elaine, by establishing the first of eight charitable gift annuities. Over the next seven years, Mr. Liebman contributed the gifts in gratitude to GBMC Physician Titan Dr. Gary Cohen, who treated Elaine for lung cancer.

In a 2005 interview, Frank told GBMC his decision to give back was easy, "What really makes it special is the good feeling I get from giving to an institution that gave me two years I would not have had with my wife." Elaine and Frank were married for nearly 50 years.

Frank passed away in January 2015, almost 20 years after Elaine. He was 91. Frank would be happy to know that the gifts he contributed, so many years before, are now ensuring life-saving treatment and care for patients of GBMC's Berman Cancer Center and the cardiology department. Donors, like Frank, give charitable gift annuities in return for a lifetime income stream and an income tax deduction in the year of the gift.

Born in Newton, Massachusetts, to Charles and Ruth Liebman, Frank and his late brother, Harmon, grew up learning to be accomplished people like their parents. Frank's father was chief radiologist at a hospital in Montreal; his mother worked in the home.

Frank did not go to college. Instead, he moved to California to work in a factory owned by his uncle, Eddie Rose. There, he worked hard in the infant bedding manufacturing factory.

World War II interrupted Frank's career, and he served honorably as an airplane mechanic with the Army Air Corps. Like so many of his generation, Frank served with pride and distinction.

After the war, Frank continued work in the children's furniture industry. He excelled in his sales business and eventually relocated to Baltimore. Early on, he earned the business of Toys R Us. Company management thought so much of Frank that he retained Toys R Us as a client even when it became an international megastore.

Living in Baltimore, Frank met Elaine Landy on a blind date. Elaine attended Goucher College. They married in 1952 and bought a home in Pikesville, where they raised their two sons, John and Gary. Frank continued to live in the home after Elaine's death, until 2010 when declining health necessitated his move into assisted living.

Frank Liebman will be remembered as a kind and generous benefactor of GBMC. His philanthropy and affection for Dr. Gary Cohen are recurring themes at GBMC. Frank once said, "The main reason I feel so close to GBMC is because of Dr. Cohen - in so many ways that I cannot describe. He did everything that could possibly have been done for Elaine."

The Elizabeth Duncan Yaggy Society honors loyal benefactors who have provided for GBMC in their estate plans or with a gift to GBMC that pays them a lifetime of income. Please contact us to learn more.