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In Memoriam: Beth Duke

Beth Duke with a young patient in a waiting room at CHKD.


Heart and soul of CHKD leaves legacy of inspiration and generosity

Beth Duke began her career at CHKD humbly, reflecting the nurse-on-a-bicycle beginnings of the hospital itself.

The 23-year-old Navy wife was hired as an assistant to the hospital’s first chief executive, William Selvey, in 1965, just a year after the 88-bed hospital had received its accreditation. She used to joke that she quickly learned to type.

But there was so much more to come.

When she arrived, CHKD had no emergency room, no operating rooms, no neonatal intensive care unit, no transport program. When she retired 45 years later, as senior vice president of community relations and development, she had raised $125 million for a hospital that would gain all of those services and so much more during her tenure.

At CHKD, we honor Beth Duke, who died in July of 2021 at the age of 78, for her extraordinary legacy as chief fundraiser, public relations leader, and beloved advocate for children. She even helped develop the Kidstuff magazine you are reading right now.

She was a woman who walked the halls of the hospital, talking with patients, families, and staff about their needs. Then she connected with the movers and shakers of the community, especially The King’s Daughters, founding organization of CHKD, to make sure those needs were met.

Her mantra was “It’s all about the children,” and indeed, hundreds of thousands of children have benefited from Beth’s focus on advancing pediatric care.

Philanthropists, organizations, and companies knew when Beth asked them to support one of the hospital’s projects, it was with one thing in mind – the children deserve our best, and we can’t let them down. In an interview with The Virginian-Pilot before her retirement in 2010, Beth described her fundraising style as “relentless.”

“I never take no for an answer because I know I have a good message,” she said. “I’m not asking for myself. The children can’t ask for themselves.”

Beth was also a trailblazer and mentor for a generation of women entering the workforce in the 1970s and 1980s. “She was the first woman through so many doors,” says Beth’s longtime CHKD colleague and friend, Loretta Coureas, who spoke at Beth’s memorial service. “And she held that door open for so many other women to follow her. We all owe her a debt of gratitude.”

During Beth’s decades-long career, CHKD established a NICU and, through philanthropy, completed its first major expansion – with more beds, specialized labs, diagnostic clinics and outpatient services, a center for pediatric research, a child abuse program, and a center for cancer and blood disorders.

Dr. Donald Nuss, a surgeon who arrived at CHKD in 1977, credits Beth for leading the campaign to raise the money for the hospital’s first operating rooms where he was able to develop the internationally acclaimed Nuss procedure, a minimally invasive approach that is now used across the globe to correct a chest deformity called pectus excavatum, or sunken chest.

Beth became the director of community relations in the early 1980s, which put her in charge of fundraising as well as public relations, volunteer services, and the gift shop. By 1989, she graduated to senior vice president of community relations and development as the hospital was expanding with the opening of health centers, pediatric offices, and outpatient surgery centers in other cities.

Beth was known for listening and communicating. She remembered the smallest details of a person’s history and family. “Back in those days, no one gave me a job description,” she told a reporter as she prepared to retire. “It was just instinctual. I felt that if you go above and beyond what you’re supposed to do, the rest will follow.”

The hospital, its patients and families, and the entire community will reap the benefits of Beth’s commitment to the welfare of our community’s children for decades to come. She has inspired the generosity of countless others who will continue her mission to bring hope and healing to every child who needs care.


Published in CHKD's KidStuff Magazine, Winter 2022
Written by Elizabeth Earley • Photograph by Eric Lusher

The Beth Duke Legacy Society

You, too, can make a lasting impact at CHKD.

Friends who establish a future gift to CHKD are members of the Beth Duke Legacy Society. This very special group of donors helps perpetuate the mission of CHKD and inspires others to do the same just as Beth Duke did throughout her 45-year career with the hospital.

You can become a member of the Beth Duke Legacy Society through designating a gift in your will, with a charitable gift annuity, or by naming CHKD as the beneficiary of your retirement plan, insurance policy, or estate plan.

Planned gifts to CHKD make a world of difference. They help to ensure that our regions children receive the pediatric care they need for years to come, and they create a lasting legacy for our donors.

Learn More