Donations helping McDonald House to triple capacity to serve

SALT LAKE CITY — Tenley Curtiss and her great-uncle have always had a special bond, her father said. When she asked relatives to go on four-wheeler rides, it was her great-uncle who would take her.

Tenley, 9, was diagnosed in 2010 with juvenile pilocytic astrocytoma, a stage 1 cancer in the center of her brain. Two years later, Charlie Curtiss, her great-uncle, was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer of the lungs, lymph nodes, adrenal gland and liver.

"Him and Tenley, they had a special bond before, but after he got diagnosed with cancer, it was even (more)," said Travis Curtiss, Tenley's father. "He said she was his idol. His motivation was her."

So it was no surprise, he said, when Charlie died and left his brother with his estate and the simple instructions: "I want you to give it all away to other people. You'll know what to do."

It was Tenley who led the family to that answer.

When Tenley's family traveled from their home in Chubbuck, Idaho, to Utah for treatments, they stayed in the Ronald McDonald House at 935 E. South Temple.

When Charlie's brother Joe Curtiss found out the Ronald McDonald House of Charities of the Intermountain Area Inc. was looking to expand and renovate the home, he knew he had his answer. He committed $30,000 of Charlie's estate to the house, enough to fund one guest bedroom in the new wing.

"Right after that, I got in my truck to drive back (home), and I got tears in my eyes and looked up, and I said, 'Charlie, I knew what to do. This is it,'" Joe Curtiss said.

Tenley said she used to talk to Charlie on the telephone often and that they were very close.

"He was always really fun, and he always helped me fight cancer," she said.

Now, family members say Charlie will help ease some of the burdens many patients and families face as they battle illnesses.

"Everything was so overwhelming, and it was just a relief not to have to worry about a motel bill," Travis Curtiss said of the time they stayed in the house. "It just helped so much."

Carrie Romano, executive director of the Ronald McDonald House Charities, said last year the charity had to turn away 588 families because there wasn't enough room, or the rooms weren't big enough for families.

Romano said the new wing is scheduled to be finished in January 2014. Renovations of the existing 25-year-old building will take six to eight months to finish, and then the two buildings will be connected.

The changes will mean 250 people a night will be able to stay there, increasing the number of rooms from 33 to 71, she said.

"These stories are so compelling. The families are deeply courageous. The kids are truly inspiring," Romano said. "It’s an honor, I would say, to be a part of that time in their lives and to try to ease the landing spot for them and attend to their daily needs."

Romano said she has seen families come from all over the world to stay in the house, in one case for more than a year. Donations provide food for the families and welcome packages that include a towel and toiletries.

The Curtiss' donation brings the total amount donated to the Ronald McDonald House Charities since last summer to $10.1 million, just shy of its $11 million goal.

The new wing, constructed by R&O Construction, will be 40,000 square feet, with a large playroom and courtyard, a game room, a wellness and fitness center, a quiet contemplation room, dining room, kitchen and 41 guest rooms.

The old wing will be renovated to host families with immunocompromised patients in eight, long-term suites.

Joe Curtiss said this is just the beginning of a long legacy to be left in his brother's memory.

"There aren’t really any restrictions (to spending his estate) except something that he would be proud of," he said. "And this is most definitely one of those."

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