The chance meeting of a pair of Tulane University students at a medical school fraternity party almost 75 years ago led to a life filled with family, service and a lasting legacy that will continue at Tulane for years to come. After Lenore Benson Raborn (SW ’47) met Robert Raborn (M ’48), the two fell in love and were married for 52 years.

In 1974, the Raborns set up a trust for the benefit of Tulane valued at $750,000. In 1999, Robert passed away. The remainder of the now $1.925 million trust will eventually go to the couple’s alma mater, including 60% to the School of Medicine and 40% to the School of Social Work.  

“The future gift from the Raborn family will have a significant and lasting impact on the School of Medicine,” said Dr. Lee Hamm, dean of the School of Medicine and senior vice president. “I am grateful to Lenore Raborn and her late husband, Dr. Robert Raborn, for their generosity and support.”

“This gift will provide opportunities for the school to increase our impact by doing work that matters, both in our community and across the globe,” said Patrick Bordnick, dean of the School of Social Work. 

Robert was a pioneer in the use of technology and medicine. He was a charter member and past president of the Bethesda Memorial Hospital medical staff, a hospital he helped found in 1959 in Boynton Beach, Florida. Lenore used her medical social work background and worked professionally in New Orleans and supported many volunteer efforts throughout her life.

“When I would come home from school in my teens, I remember my mother asking, ‘Well, what have you done today for the good of the world?’ My mother was a medical social worker all her life, far beyond the years it was her paid profession,” daughter Robin Raborn said.