Over 100,000 people lived on the east side of the Cumberland River in 1959, across communities interspersed with farmland stretching from Inglewood to Madison, Goodlettsville, and out to Donelson. That number represented a full quarter of the Nashville area's population, yet very little was available in the way of health care. A new hospital, according to Board members and a growing contingent of opinion leaders, would address that medical service vacuum in a way that could mean the difference between life and death. On June 27, 1965, Nashville Memorial Hospital became a reality, and the Nashville Banner recounted a dedication ceremony the day before with more than 1,000 in attendance. In April of 1994, as the $42 million hospital sale was approved unanimously by the Board, the Memorial Foundation was established. In addition to the proceeds from the sale, the Foundation would retain the cash reserves, property, assets and receivables, all told totaling $105 million. Over two decades, through the tech bubble of the '90s and the recession and strife of the 21st century, the Memorial Foundation has carefully cultivated the proceeds generated by a single community hospital into one of the largest foundations in the region. The late J.D. Elliott said it best in the foundation's 2014 Annual Report. Having contributed over $135 million to worthy non-profits across Middle Tennessee, it was only the beginning of the growing season. "We resolve to stay the course, regardless of what the future holds," said Elliott, who directed both the hospital and the foundation over a career spanning a half-century. "Next year--and in all the years following--we are determined to remain a place where giving grows." Thus is the significance of the Memorial Foundation, as unique and wonderful as the city it serves. This book contains only a few highlights of the people and the organizations who have improved millions of lives cultivating those seeds, each of them simply united in humanity.