Mary Alice Wheeler died in 1957.
In 2024, she helped 133 patients pay their medical bills at UPMC Northwest.
She was born Mary Alice Siggins in 1894 in Tionesta to parents Dr. James B. Siggins and Virginia Hall Siggins. Her father was one of the first surgeons in our area and served as chief of staff for the Oil City Hospital for many years as well as the mayor of Oil City from 1911 to 1916. She received her education in Oil City schools and Miss Bristol’s school in Washington, D.C.
Mary Alice married Tidioute native Major Alexander R. Wheeler in 1922. Major Wheeler’s family owned the successful Endeavor lumber company Wheeler and Dusenbury. He earned degrees from Yale and Oxford, served in World War I, and was elected to the Pennsylvania Legislature. After his untimely death in 1935, Mary Alice moved to Keepsake Farm, the Siggins homestead in West Hickory, Forest County.
She traveled extensively worldwide and served as a member of more than 20 local organizations, including the Oil City Hospital board, gardening organizations, Presbyterian groups, and historical and archaeological societies.
After Mary Alice’s death in 1957, her will established a trust to provide for various family members until their passing. The trust then continued as the Dr. James B. Siggins Memorial Fund designated to help cover medical expenses for patients unable to afford the cost of their medical care at the Oil City Hospital, now UPMC Northwest. In the last decade alone, her trust has provided nearly $2 million which has helped hundreds of patients reduce or eliminate their medical debt at our hospital.
Though Mary Alice died 68 years ago, her legacy lives on through the relief and peace of mind felt by so many local patients when they receive this much-needed assistance. She continues to ensure these individuals receive the treatment they need regardless of their financial circumstances.
Just like Mary Alice Wheeler, you can leave your legacy by making a planned gift to the Northwest Hospital Foundation. Making a bequest in your will, naming Northwest Hospital Foundation as a beneficiary on your retirement account, or creating a charitable remainder trust costs you nothing today and makes all the difference tomorrow.
For more information about making a planned gift, please contact Executive Director Theresa Edder at edderta2@upmc.edu or 814.676.7145.
