Maddie’s Room Inspired by Love

The generous spirit of Madelyn “Maddie” Katz will live on at UCLA in the numerous areas her and husband Ronald A. Katz’s philanthropy touched, including the surgical waiting room named in her honor and, more recently, Operation Mend. Maddie died March 1 in her home after a lengthy battle with pancreatic cancer. She was 73.

As the president of the UCLA Medical Center Auxiliary from 1996 to 1999, Maddie walked through the halls of the old medical center and envisioned a calm and inviting place where families and friends could wait while their loved ones were in surgery. Her husband shared her vision, leading to their generous gift of the surgical waiting room at the new Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. She was thrilled when she saw the new room come to life. “It’s private, peaceful and welcoming — just what people need when they’re in that stressful situation,” she said when the room was completed and opened in June 2008. “Ron surprised me by stipulating that it be called ‘Maddie’s Room,’ and I’m proud that it bears my name.”

“Maddie was one of the most endearing, dedicated and hard-working benefactors that I have ever had the privilege to know. The UCLA community deeply mourns her loss,” says Gerald S. Levey, M.D., vice chancellor of UCLA Medical Sciences and dean of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.