Bubbles & Brunch

Philanthropy Recognition

William & margaret Robertson Family

The Bradley Free Clinic has been a passion of both Willie and Margaret Robertson for many years. They have always been the first to step up to the plate. They were introduced to the Clinic through their son Will’s involvement as a patient screener in the mid-’80s at the St. Mark’s location. He completed a hands-on independent study for Wake Forest University updating the screener’s manual during this time. After this, Willie volunteered behind the scenes when the clinic moved to its current location with Margaret’s encouragement. Willie and a group of Rotarians helped maintain landscaping by getting his hands in the dirt, his favorite pastime. In the winters, the Clinic would need snow removal, and whenever Estelle, the former director, would call Willie, he would arrange to have it take care of. Willie and Margaret developed a tremendous amount of respect for the charity work being done at the Clinic and a great admiration for Estelle. Unfortunately, Willie passed away in February of 2019, and sadly Margaret passed away two weeks ago, on September 5th. So here with us today is their son, Will Robertson, and his wife Shari and their daughter, Virginia Summerell, and her husband JJ.

Willie and Margaret’s desire has always been to help others in need. Margaret wanted to continue to support projects at the Clinic, so with funds from the Robertson Family Fund managed by the Community Foundation of Southwest Virginia, they made a legacy donation. Their legacy donation is the catalyst that will help the Clinic build a new behavioral health wing. This expansion will provide much-needed space for psychiatry and counseling services for the underserved in our community. The new wing, the new hope, will be called the Robertson Behavioral Health Wing.