When Leonard and Peggy Kirschner met in Madrid in 1971 while both, coincidentally, were shopping for cars, neither could have guessed how far their partnership would travel. Over the next five decades, it would carry them through a career in the Air Force, a career in education, a career in public health policy, and finally, to a home at the Orchard at Sun Health’s La Loma Village, where they’ve spent the last several years doing what they’ve always done best — showing up for the people around them.
“We’re outgoing, and we’re willing to take risks,” Leonard says, explaining why he and Peggy so often find themselves at the center of community life, wherever they land. It’s a modest way of describing two people whose careers and volunteer lives share a single thread — service.
Peggy began as a first-grade teacher and spent most of her career as a high school counselor, drawn, she says, to simply loving kids and wanting to help them find their footing. Leonard, born in New York City to first-generation Americans, became a physician and spent 22 years in the Air Force, logging more than 1,000 flying hours and retiring as a colonel and hospital commander at Luke Air Force Base. From there, he went on to lead AHCCCS (Arizona’s Medicaid agency) for seven years and then consulted nationally on health policy, advising the Clinton administration.
He later served in AARP leadership for years, including six years as Arizona state president. He remains actively engaged, whether recording podcasts or advocating in Washington, D.C., most notably in 2022 when he jumped on a last-minute flight to push for passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, designed to help keep Medicare and prescription drugs affordable.
That instinct to serve hasn’t slowed down since the Kirschners moved to La Loma Village. Leonard, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease last year, still gives talks to the community’s Men’s Club on everything from Cold War history to the science of social connection and healthy aging. Peggy and another resident and friend started Las Amigas, a women’s group that now meets monthly, and — after noticing how many questions she and Leonard had following his diagnosis — launched a Parkinson’s and movement disorders support group that meets twice a month.
Both remain deeply engaged with the causes that shaped them — Peggy with P.E.O. (Philanthropic Educational Organization), where she focuses on supporting scholarships for women, and Leonard with the boards and health initiatives he’s supported for years.
“When choosing who to support, we thought about the organizations that have touched us the most throughout our lives.”
-Peggy Kirschner
The same spirit of generosity that has guided their careers, volunteerism, and philanthropy has also guided their approach to estate planning. They want to ensure the causes they care about today continue to benefit long after they’re gone.
“Family comes first,” shares Peggy. “And after family, education is number one,” Leonard adds. Their trust reflects the schools that shaped them: Westmont College for Peggy, and Williams College, Albany Medical College, and Harvard for Leonard. The couple has chosen to focus their giving on Westmont College, where the need is greatest. “They have a smaller endowment,” explains Peggy. “Many of their graduates work as missionaries or in other service careers.”
But their giving doesn’t stop with alma maters. It extends, too, to the organizations that have been part of their lives since then — among them, Sun Health. While they have been residents of La Loma Village for just three years, Leonard and Peggy played a significant role in supporting the creation of La Loma Village more than 20 years ago, and Leonard also served on the boards of Del E. Webb and Sun Health for years before Banner acquired Sun Health’s two hospitals in 2008.
While the couple pursued other endeavors in the decade that followed, it was not hard to rejoin the fold when they heard in 2018 that Sun Health was entering a new phase of development at Rancho La Loma, with goals to positively impact the Southwest Valley at large. Now settled in, making their mark, and touched by the community of neighbors and supportive staff who surround them, they decided there was a place for Sun Health Foundation in their estate plans.
“The question isn’t how much you have, but what you’re willing to do with it.”
-Dr. Leonard Kirschner
That’s because for the Kirschners, planning their legacy isn’t a single event so much as an ongoing act of care — one that, notably, they revisit and update as their lives change. It’s a reminder that a will isn’t a document you file away and forget. It’s a living reflection of what matters to you, and it can be revised at any time as your life and priorities evolve.
It’s also a reminder that legacy giving isn’t reserved for a select few. “Large gifts are important, but small gifts are just as important,” Leonard says. Peggy agrees: “Giving is rewarding for anyone. It doesn’t matter if you have just $5 to contribute to the world and to others. You still have more than someone else out there.”
Like Leonard and Peggy, you can protect the people and causes you love, ensure your wishes are honored, and know that whatever you choose to leave behind will be handled with the same care you put into building it.
To learn more about including Sun Health Foundation in your estate plans, or to speak confidentially with our planned giving team, visit our Planning Your Legacy page or call (623) 471-8470.
