Jack and Judy Wexler - "A Tradition of Giving for One Well-Traveled Couple"

Jack and Judy Wexler

Malaria. Tuberculosis. Beriberi. These are tropical diseases most people only read about in medical journals, but they were experienced first-hand by Jack and Judy Wexler during their years traveling abroad while Jack was employed by a major oil company.

The early 1950s found the young couple, who now boast 60 years of marriage, raising two sons and a daughter in Indonesia. When they needed medical help, they had to turn to the local people who could only speak the native language.

"We were in a lot of places that didn't have good medical care," recalled Judy. "For even the most basic of services, we had to travel."

"Due to political constraints, we couldn't always travel freely to seek medical treatment," Jack added. "Our entire family had the gamut of tropical diseases."

After having lived in places such as Japan, Singapore, Southeast Asia, Bermuda, Europe and Hong Kong (among others!), Jack and Judy returned to the United States. They left the threat of tropical diseases behind, and instead brought back with them an impressive collection of art and artifacts. In fact, walking into their home in Oak Harbor is like walking into a museum. Visitors should be ready for a lesson in art and history as Jack knowledgeably – and affectionately – points to artifacts from the early Sung Dynasty of the 900s and the Ming Dynasty of the 1600s. Or to Palembang chests that were made 200 to 300 years ago by Chinese carvers that the Sultans employed to do their artwork. Or to Balinese paintings and carvings, some of which are thousands of years old.

It is no surprise to learn that Jack used to be a docent at the Houston Museum of Fine Arts, to which he has donated many items. "We had no desire to have a collection," said Jack. "We just wanted to learn about the area where we lived."

During their time abroad, the Wexlers saw first-hand the value of quality medical services. The need for those services did not cease, however, when they moved to Vero Beach upon Jack's retirement in 1982. Ironically, they moved to Vero originally due to allergies. "The tropics offered a better climate," explained Jack. And we all know that Indian River County holds the distinction of "where the tropics begin!"

While the allergies may have eased up, unfortunately, Jack has experienced a good bit of ill health, necessitating stays in Indian River Medical Center. That's where he and his wife directly experienced the impact that the entire hospital staff, especially the nurses, has on a person's life. As a result of that direct contact with the nurses, the Wexlers have designated gifts to the IRMC Foundation specifically for nursing scholarships.

"I was exposed to the fact that some of the nurses had an education only to a point and couldn't go any further," said Jack. "The lack of further education was not due to lack of dedication. They were extremely dedicated. It was due to the lack of finances."

The Wexlers have always given liberally, and quietly, to the communities in which they live. "We're not great crusaders," stated Jack. In addition to recent contributions designated for nursing scholarships, they have also made some provisions in stock to the Foundation.
It is "quiet crusaders" like the Wexlers who make a difference in our community and who pass down a heritage of philanthropy to the generations to come. One of their sons serves on the board of a major hospital in New Jersey. One grandson spent time in Haiti and Africa as an anthropologist, and he is studying now at Yale Law School in order to go back to those countries to help. Another grandson has spent time in the Marshall Islands, teaching science and math (funded by the Wexlers). A granddaughter is studying to be a doctor so that she can work in a third world country. She has already helped to organize a program in Afghanistan and Darfur.

"Our children and grandchildren are imbued with giving," commented Judy with a touch of motherly, and grandmotherly, pride.

They say that children learn what they see, and what the Wexler's children have seen demonstrated in the lives of Jack and Judy is sacrificial giving. What a beautiful heritage.