One of the legacies the late Elmo Giampaoli left to Merced shines in a place a lot of people wouldn't consider.
Giampaoli, a Le Grand rancher who died in 2003, knew there would eventually be a new hospital in Merced -- and he gave a gift that both comforts and helps heal.
The chapel at Mercy Medical Center's new hospital was funded by Giampaoli's legacy, and is home to stained glass that has its roots in New Mexico and Germany.
Merced Sun-Star - Janice Wilkerson, right, mission integration director, and Robert McLaughlin, marketing director for Mercy Medical Center, look up at the stained glass in the chapel at Mercy Medical Center
Merced Sun-Star - The stained glass in the chapel at Mercy Medical Center was made possible by funds left for the new hospital by the late Elmo Giampaoli, a Le Grand rancher who died in 2003.
Merced Sun-Star - Janice Wilkerson, right, mission integration director, for Mercy Medical Center, checks the chapel's lighting at the new hospital.
Lisa Wegley, director of the Mercy Medical Center Foundation, said when the new hospital was built, the foundation and the Giampaoli family thought a special chapel would be an original way to remember Elmo Giampaoli.
"The chapel and the stained glass are a reflection of the legacy Elmo left to everyone in the county," Wegley said.
Janice Wilkerson, mission integration director for Mercy, said an artist in New Mexico designed the stained glass in the chapel.
"The artist, Linda Labeau, did a couple of designs, and everyone agreed on the same one," Wilkerson said.
One of the Dominican sisters associated with Mercy wanted a visual statement that would illustrate the 23rd Psalm in the Bible, Wilkerson said.
"The artist's interpretation is that as you view the stained glass, you are drawn through the living waters to the presence of God and the heavens," Wilkerson said.
Once the design was chosen, the stained glass was made in Germany. But trying to get the glass to Merced before the hospital opened May 2 turned out to be a bit of a problem.
"The stained glass sat on an airplane in Germany for a couple of weeks," Wilkerson said. The plane was delayed when the Eyjafjallajökull volcano erupted in Iceland in April.
"The stained glass was being put up the day we dedicated the chapel," Wilkerson said. It was installed so that it can also be seen from outside the hospital.
Although the chapel features a Christian theme, Wilkerson said it's a place for all denominations and faiths.
"We all need a place of comfort in a hospital," Wilkerson said.
And thanks to the generosity and foresight of a man of the land, people visiting Mercy Hospital can enjoy the bright light of his vision.
Reporter Carol Reiter can be reached at (209) 385-2486 or creiter@mercedsun-star.com.
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