TRUMBULL In her life, as one of the few female practicing lawyers in 1940s Bridgeport, Helen F. Krause could rightfully claim to be a trailblazer. Now, in death, the late longtime town resident will make it possible for professionals in a different field to be pioneers, too.
Krause, who died two years ago at age 85, has left her entire estate to the fundraising arm of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, the organization devoted to researching and curing children's cancers and other catastrophic diseases. "I was thrilled when I heard," said John P.
Moses, CEO of the American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities, which raises money for the hospital. "Our average donation is $25.09," he said.
ALSAC received the first $1 million of what could eventually be $5 million to $7 million last weekend, when it celebrated its 50th anniversary. Moses said the money will go into the hospital's general fund, helping meet its annual budget for research and treating its patients, who are younger than 18. He said ALSAC covers some 72 percent of St.
Jude's expenses, while the average hospital gets perhaps 8 percent from philanthropy. Krause, who had no children of her own, was encouraged to donate to ALSAC by her lawyer, George Ganim, who has fundraising ties to the organization going back decades. "She consulted with me," Ganim said last week, recalling discussions about how Krause planned to dispose of her estate.
He said Krause had a fondness for children and an affinity for St. Jude, perhaps owing to her own membership in the Monroe parish of the same name. Krause was a graduate of Harding High School, Class of 1938, and the law school at New York University.
She graduated in 1943 and was one of a very few women in the Bridgeport Bar. Even by 1969, there were but seven practicing local female lawyers. But she broke ground as a lawyer not just for women, but for the Polish community.
"For the immigrant population she was their lawyer," Ganim said. But whatever their background, "she was a very tough fighter for her clients," he added. "I liked her very much," said Richard Bieder who started practicing in 1969.
He recalled Krause as an elegant, well-dressed woman who treated people with charm and respect, but could show a bit of temper when relating her clients' problems. A Bridgeport native, Krause lived in Trumbull after her marriage to August Maykut and before she retired to Arizona and Nevada, where her assets blossomed through good real estate investments, Ganim said. Ganim and his son, Bridgeport Probate Judge Paul J.
Ganim, flew to Memphis last weekend to present the check from Kause's bequest, though the entire estate will take some time to liquidate. The hospital, which opened in 1962, was the dream of the late Danny Thomas, who prayed as a young entertainer to the patron saint of lost causes to guide him in life. Eventually, he formed ALSAC with the help of others of Arab-speaking heritage.
At any given time, his living shrine has 60 in-patients, 250 out-patients, and offers countless long-distance consultations without regard to anyone's race, religion, creed or ability to pay. Moses said its progress is illustrated by the cure rate for the most common form of childhood leukemia, pegged at 4 percent in 1962 and at 94 percent today. Aside from insurance, the hospital never collects fees for its services even from those who can afford it.
"They can make a donation," Moses said. "But they don't get a bill." TRUMBULL In her life, as one of the few female practicing lawyers in 1940s Bridgeport, Helen F.
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