CRMC-West 214 E. 23 St. Cheyenne, WY 82001
CRMC-East 2600 E. 18 St. Cheyenne, WY 82001
Health & Fitness 1620 E. Pershing, Cheyenne, WY 82001

(307) 634-CARE

F E Warren Pershing...

The romance of
Frances Warren and John J. Pershing...

1905 to 1915 --
The Pershing's
Married Life Together...

The Pershing
Family Grows...

The Fateful Night
of August 27, 1915...

In memory of
Frances...

The general's life
without Frances...

Memorial Hospital
changes

In memory of Frances

In August 1915, a funeral was held at St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Cheyenne, Wyoming for Frances Warren Pershing and her three daughters. Hundreds of cavalry troopers from nearby Fort D. A. Russell (later to be re-named F. E. Warren Air Force Base in honor of Frances Warren Pershing's famous father) participated in the funeral procession to the family plot in Lakeview Cemetery.

Six-year-old Warren Pershing, the sole survivor of the tragedy at the Presidio in San Francisco, eventually recovered from the smoke inhalation.

After the funeral, General Pershing returned to Fort Bliss in Texas, enlisting his sister, Mae, to care for Warren.

In the same year that the United States entered the first world war, the Wyoming State Legislature passed a law permitting the erection of "Memorial Hospitals" in the counties of Wyoming.

Two years later, the legislature amended the law providing, in substance, that the "free gift of $15,000 or more, as a foundation fund, might entitle the donor to have a hospital or some portion thereof, founded in his memory or that of anyone whom he might designate."

This change in the law inspired Laramie County Commission Chairman Warren Richardson to contact Senator F. E. Warren. Richardson, a Cheyenne financier and builder, suggested to Senator Warren that the county commissioners would be " more than pleased" to found a hospital in memory of Frances Warren Pershing if the senator would donate a foundation fund as provided by the new Wyoming statute.
Senator Warren promised $25,000 toward the establishment of a foundation fund to build a new county hospital in Cheyenne.

Warren Richardson contributed $5,000 of his own money toward the cause, and planning for a new county hospital was under way. A detailed study of other hospitals revealed that $300,000 would be necessary to build, furnish and equip a hospital which would meet the needs of Laramie County residents for a projected 25 years. With $150,000 in county funds already set aside for the project, a private subscription drive began.

The subscription drive raised more than $100,000 over a period of several months. An ad in the Wednesday, May 17, 1922 issue of the Wyoming State Tribune and Cheyenne State Leader, published as the new hospital neared completion, provided a "Complete List of Memorial Hospital Donations Above $25.00 - Between $20.00 and $5.00 - Board of Trustees Expresses Its Appreciation of the Generosity and Cooperation Received from Laramie County Citizens and Many Non-Resident Friends of the Institution."

Appearing in the ad are a number of names familiar to us today - names like Harry P. Hynds, who Hynds Lodge west of Cheyenne was named after; W. E. Deming, W. E. Dinneen (whose grandson, Bill Dinneen, was one of the honorary chairs of Denim "N Diamonds last year), and William Dubois, whose grandson, also named William Dubois, currently serves on the hospital's Board of Trustees.

Donations also came in from organizations with whimsical names (to us) like the "Women's Searchlight Club", the "Help One Another Club", the "Queen Esther Circle", and the "Brotherhood of American Yeomen".

After several bids came in exceeding $600,000, eventually, the contract was awarded to Archie Allison of Cheyenne at a price of approximately $300,000.
Allison's bid to build the hospital did not include electrical fixtures, linoleum, or equipment and furnishings for all departments, including the kitchen. Nor did it include other "incidentals", such as sidewalks and improving the grounds around the new building.

Mr. and Mrs. William R. Coe of Cody, Wyoming (whose name now graces the Coe Library at the University of Wyoming) expressed an interest in the new hospital project in Cheyenne, donating a total of $50,000 to cover some of these costs.

The general's life without Frances...

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