Patty Derrick donates $150K for interfaith chapel at surgical hospital

Rehoboth businesswoman Patty Derrick has donated $150,000 to the I Believe in Beebe campaign to name the new interfaith chapel at the specialty surgical hospital.

The owner of the Sea Shell Shops, Shell We Eat Ice Cream, Shell We Golf and Shell We Bounce will also include a special stained-glass window in the chapel, which will be named Shell We Pray. The new surgical hospital will be the anchor of the Rehoboth Health Campus off Route 24 and is slated to open in summer 2021.

“I am dedicating this chapel to my deceased husband, Thomas B. Derrick, and to my deceased mother, Virginia May Klobe, and to my substitute mother and very longtime friend, Marie Mollick, who is still living at 94 years young,” Derrick said. “The love, care, and concern I have received over the years from those I am dedicating the chapel to is the same kind of love, care and concern Beebe has for its community. My last-born is a Beebe Baby and now he’s going on 40. As my mother would say, ‘It’s the right thing to do.’ I think God would say the same thing, and I encourage other businesses to step forward and be part of the I Believe in Beebe campaign.”

The record-breaking $45 million I Believe in Beebe campaign ended in December, surpassing the $34 million goal to support the healthcare system’s largest expansion in its 104-year history.

“Patty is a true Beebe Believer,” said Thomas J. Protack, Beebe Medical Foundation president. “I met Patty this past summer at the Fourth of July party of a mutual friend. As we talked and she learned about my role at the foundation, she asked about ways she could give. She had an immediate interest in the 1916 Club, and not only did she become a 1916 Club member, she also made this wonderful gift to name the first-floor chapel at the specialty surgical hospital.

“Patty is a leader – a member of our community who understands that supporting her local healthcare system builds and improves the community where we all live, and where she has lived and worked since 1979. I am grateful. Patty’s gift has already inspired other local businesses to come forward to support the hospital,” said Protack.