Gifts Helping Cancer Care

Lienemann Charitable Foundation provides funding for oncology nurse navigator position

Charlotte Lienemann

For three months, Charlotte Lienemann waited beside her teenage son’s hospital bed, hoping he’d wake up from the coma induced by the inoperable tumor that wound around his spinal cord.

It was 1968, and by that time, she’d already spent nearly three years juggling the duties of everyday life as the mother of a cancer patient — administering David’s medications, arranging appointments and caring for her six other children.

David’s siblings struggled to understand what was happening. Why couldn’t they roughhouse anymore? Why couldn’t David play like he used to?

As a registered nurse, Charlotte was uniquely qualified to steer her son and her family through the language and logistics of cancer care. In nursing school, Charlotte was selected to provide personal care for the dean who was going through cancer treatments, a nurse navigator ahead of the times.

Even so, “It would’ve been helpful if someone walked us kids through the process of what the diagnosis was, where the tumor was located, how it’s a difficult surgery to get rid of, what the process would be, etc.,” says Del Lienemann Jr., the oldest of Charlotte and Del Sr.’s children and a current Board member of the Lienemann Charitable Foundation.

David didn’t wake up. He died at age 15.

What the Lienemann family was missing in their own journey is precisely what they’re providing for future patients and families. The Lienemann Charitable Foundation’s gift to Bryan will support a position for an oncology nurse navigator, who will provide guidance and resources to patients and families enduring cancer.

“I do remember Mom and Dad saying that going through something like that with a child will often end up dividing a family — it either makes them closer or it divides them,” says Denise Scholz, the youngest of the Lienemann children and a current Foundation Board member.

The experience united the Lienemanns and helped shape the family’s philanthropic legacy. Charlotte and Del Senior established the Lienemann Charitable Foundation to manage memorial gifts after David died, and the Foundation has since grown into a major supporter of Bryan and various causes in Lincoln and beyond.

“We appreciate the opportunity that Bryan brought to us so that we could do this,” says the Lienemanns’ son, Doug, who’s also a Board member. “This is an opportunity to honor our mother and provide support to others who are faced with the challenges of a cancer diagnosis. Lincoln is fortunate to have the Bryan Foundation actively determining the needs of patients and then working to obtain the funds to make positions such as this available. This type of outreach is what makes our community a great place to live and thrive.”

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