Donor Stories
Tim and Candace Dee
Salt Lake City-born Candace Cartwright and Ogden native Thomas “Tim” D. Dee III may have grown up merely 40 miles apart, but it would take both moving to Portland, Oregon for the Utahns to meet. At Lewis & Clark College, Candace, the daughter of George E. Cartwright, M.D., who chaired the Department of Medicine at the University of Utah for more than two decades and initiated its genetics program, met Tim, the great grandson of Annie Taylor Dee, who established Ogden’s first non-profit hospital in 1910. The two quickly identified a mutual interest in skiing, though their shared family commitment to health care was equally undeniable.
Forty years later, the penchant for skiing has been supplanted by a passion for scuba diving, but Candace and Tim, who married in 1975, remain deeply invested in furthering their families’ impact on health care. Following a teaching career with the Weber School District and the completion of a master of special education from the University of Washington, as well as a doctor of philosophy from the University of Utah, Candace has taken an active role in promoting the health sciences. Tim’s career in health care dates back to his teen years, when he helped maintain the grounds of the original Mc-Kay Dee Hospital Center. He received an MBA from the University of Utah, and today is a system analyst for Intermountain Healthcare and a longtime member of the College of Nursing Development Board, serving since 1995. Both Tim and Candace have been integral to the success of the University’s Health Sciences Advocates.
Through the family’s two foundations and as individuals, the Dees have funded endowed scholarships for nursing students and have helped to create the Simulation Learning Center. “We feel very strongly about training and are willing to provide the financial support to make it happen,” says Candace. In doing so, the Dees are helping to prepare the next generation of nurses who will care for in medical settings everywhere.
Written By Katie Schrier, College of Nursing