Richard A. Perritt Charitable Foundation
Continues Pioneering Work
In life, the late Richard A. Perritt, MD, exhibited
a colorful personality. “He was a world-famous
ophthalmologist and entrepreneur, an exquisite
dresser with a very flamboyant personality,”
recalled Ron Tyrpin, his close friend and financial
advisor.
Fifteen years after his death, Mr. Perritt’s
presence still is felt through the gifts of the
Richard A. Perritt Charitable Foundation, which
provides funding to several beneficiaries within
Loyola University Health System (Loyola) including
scholarships to Stritch School of Medicine (Stritch)
students.
“We feel the scholarships are a memorial
to Dr. Perritt, who was an alumnus of Stritch,”
said Mr. Tyrpin, who manages the foundation along
with his family. “It seems fitting that
his foundation will promote future doctors. Whether
they go into research or patient care, they may
someday carry on Dr. Perritt’s tradition
of medical innovations.”
The Perritt scholarships provide tuition to students
in their second through fourth year of medical
school who show a documented financial need along
with an excellent record of scholarship, leadership
and service. Four medical students have been recipients
of the scholarships, with two, third-year students
currently in the program.
Recipient Adam Nicholson, from Flushing, Mich.,
received his undergraduate degree from the University
of Notre Dame in Indiana. “I’m very
thankful for the Perritt Foundation and grateful
for its generosity,” said Mr. Nicholson,
who is considering specializing in pediatrics.
“The foundation will be a large part of
what I think about when I reflect back on my experiences
at Stritch.”
Joshua Aaron, from Mt. Vernon, Ill., received
his undergraduate degree from Southern Illinois
University in Carbondale and is considering specializing
in surgery. “It’s both an honor and
a privilege to have this scholarship,” Mr.
Aaron said. “It has no doubt changed the
course of my future and made my dream of starting
my own practice more tangible.”
The scholarship recipients have an ideal role
model for their donor. Dr. Perritt had his own
ophthalmology practice in Chicago and worked well
into his 90s. He traveled around the world spreading
his knowledge through ophthalmology seminars and
performed eye surgeries on two popes and various
other dignitaries across the globe. Dr. Perritt
was actively involved in research and was responsible
for several breakthroughs in ophthalmology including
the first corneal transplant. “Up to his
dying day he was doing research,” Mr. Tyrpin
recalled.
Mr. Tyrpin views the Perritt Foundation’s
funding of medical education as a vital contribution
to society. “I believe providing the funding
to educate new physicians is especially important,”
he said. “Who knows, you may fund a medical
student who one day comes up with a new cure or
treatment for diseases.”
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