Loyola University Chicago

Dr. James and Mrs. Patricia Meucci have lived in California for the past 30 years, but they’ve never forgotten their experience at Loyola University Chicago and the Stritch School of Medicine. “We had very excellent instructors at Loyola,” says Dr. Meucci, who graduated from Loyola in 1956 and Stritch in 1960. “My favorite place on campus was the Madonna della Strada Chapel. I spent a lot of time there praying for good grades.”

Mrs. Meucci, a 1959 graduate, concurs, “I thought the nursing program was excellent.”         

Although the Meuccis were impressed by the quality of the education at Stritch and Loyola, they left school with more than a degree. The couple met at Loyola. When Dr. Meucci was a senior, he sold an earthworm to Mrs. Meucci as part of a science class. Romance blossomed and the couple was married as soon as Mrs. Meucci finished her degree. “If I had four years to live over, it would be those four years,” says Mrs. Meucci. “We developed a lot of friends with whom we are still in contact.”

Their experience at Loyola gave the Meuccis more than an education and friendships, however, it also changed their perceptions. “I learned to appreciate various ethnic groups,” Mrs. Meucci explains. “I really enjoyed my public health experience. I worked on the South Side and it was so diversified. As a 20-year-old, it was so eye-opening.”

“Loyola has a tendency to mature one very quickly,” Dr. Meucci agrees.

The Meuccis have honored this respect for Loyola, and their fond memories, by establishing a named scholarship at Stritch, the Dr. and Mrs. James A. Meucci Scholarship. Their $5,000 gift will grant a deserving student greater access to the benefits of a Stritch education.

After finishing his own degree at Stritch and doing an externship at St. Francis hospital, Dr. Meucci finished up his ENT training at the Hines Veterans Administration Hospital. Afterwards, the Meuccis moved to South Carolina where Dr. Meucci did his military obligation for two years at Fort Jackson. For one of those years, before the arrival of a second specialist, he was the only ENT physician for 28,000 troops and their dependants. From South Carolina, the couple relocated to the Sacramento, California, area where they have been ever since. In 1976, Dr. Meucci started his solo practice and Mrs. Meucci ran the office for 20 years. Both devout Catholics, Dr. Meucci was ordained to the Permanent Diaconate, Diocese of Sacramento, in 1996.

The Meuccis learned of the special tax benefits of donating from an IRA by their broker. “It’s nice to be able to give money out of a plan and not be taxed on it,” explains Mrs. Meucci.

The Meuccis’ generosity, however, is motivated by more than tax incentives, nostalgia, or even gratitude. “There is a need, and what we could do was to give to Loyola,” describes Dr. Meucci, whose parents were both immigrants from Italy. “My parents worked very hard to pay for my education. We were so fortunate because of that. Now, medical students are really deeply in debt. It is to a point where it will determine what specialty they will go into. We thought that maybe we could help.”

“We hope the person who wins our scholarship will know how lucky they are to be at this school,” says Dr. Meucci.