The Gardens at DePugh

Mayor Kenneth W. Bradley Marked the Occasion by Touring The Gardens at DePugh

Winter Park celebrated the legacy of Mary Lee DePugh June 9, 2014, with Mayor Kenneth W. Bradley naming the day in honor of a woman whose compassionate outreach benefitted so many of the city’s elderly residents.

The Gardens, which traces its roots to DePugh’s pioneering healthcare efforts in the 1930s and ’40s, also received Winter Park’s second-quarter business award. Community service, employee satisfaction, business viability and reputation were some of the criteria used to select recipients.

“The city of Winter Park is blessed to have amazing residents who have given so much of themselves to better our community,” Bradley said. “Mary Lee DePugh truly was one of these people. She organized a group of friends to help her minister to the elderly and care for Winter Park residents from her humble home. Her legacy lives on at The Gardens of DePugh Nursing Center. We are grateful for her vision and positive contributions to Winter Park, which continue today.”

After reading his proclamation June 9 at The Gardens, Mayor Bradley met with several of the facility’s employees and residents. As Campus CEO of Winter Park Memorial Hospital, and with more than 28 years of healthcare experience in Central Florida, the mayor is himself an expert on providing quality services to those in need.

“We’re so grateful to be honored by the city of Winter Park, and especially by someone as knowledgeable as Mayor Bradley,” said Tonya Oliver, administrator at The Gardens. “Our facility does so many wonderful things that follow in the spirit of Mary Lee DePugh. As we continue to build on her efforts, we’re glad to strengthen our deep ties to this community.”