Philanthropist Who Helped Young Patients Dies
Foundation Helped Pay For Surgeries, Funerals
POSTED: 2:59 pm EST March 10, 2010
UPDATED: 6:36 pm EST March 10, 2010
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BOSTON -- A. Raymond Tye, a prominent Boston businessman and philanthropist, has died. He was 87.
Tye and his wife, Eileen, started the Ray Tye Medical Aid Foundation in 2002 to provide medical care to financially challenged patients.Over the years Tye has paid for funerals, helped veterans groups and written checks out of his pocket without acknowledgement. But Tye's love was helping children -- those who needed surgeries and procedures their parents can't afford."I think of them as my responsibility," Tye told NewsCenter 5 in 2003. "I'm not a hero. All I'm trying to do is to take a problem and try to make an impact."Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center President Paul Levy said Tye gave "without fanfare" with "no wish for recognition.""Ray and his medical aid foundation would provide funds for travel, treatment, and follow-up care -- from conjoined twins to an Iraqi woman with a heart condition," Levy said.A funeral will be held for Tye at Congregation Mishkan Tefila at 11 a.m. Monday. Interment will be at Children of Israel Cemetery in Haverhill.The family will receive friends and family at the Boston Public Library in Copley Square following the burial.Tye, a World War II veteran, attended Tufts University and Boston University Law School. He served as chairman of the board of United Liquors for nearly 60 years.
Tye and his wife, Eileen, started the Ray Tye Medical Aid Foundation in 2002 to provide medical care to financially challenged patients.Over the years Tye has paid for funerals, helped veterans groups and written checks out of his pocket without acknowledgement. But Tye's love was helping children -- those who needed surgeries and procedures their parents can't afford."I think of them as my responsibility," Tye told NewsCenter 5 in 2003. "I'm not a hero. All I'm trying to do is to take a problem and try to make an impact."Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center President Paul Levy said Tye gave "without fanfare" with "no wish for recognition.""Ray and his medical aid foundation would provide funds for travel, treatment, and follow-up care -- from conjoined twins to an Iraqi woman with a heart condition," Levy said.A funeral will be held for Tye at Congregation Mishkan Tefila at 11 a.m. Monday. Interment will be at Children of Israel Cemetery in Haverhill.The family will receive friends and family at the Boston Public Library in Copley Square following the burial.Tye, a World War II veteran, attended Tufts University and Boston University Law School. He served as chairman of the board of United Liquors for nearly 60 years.Copyright 2010 by TheBostonChannel.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
