The Arnold Family
For nearly four decades, Dan Arnold and Dr. Bill Winters have shared a keen devotion to the Houston community and to quality health care for its residents. The intersection of their lives and interests came full circle in 2016 with a most extraordinary commitment to establish The Beverly B. and Daniel C. Arnold Presidential Distinguished Chair in Cardiology in honor of William L. Winters Jr., MD. This endowed chair celebrates the enduring impact Dan and his wife Beverly continue to have on Houston and honors the renowned career of Dr. Winters and his contributions to cardiology. It also commemorates the legacy and friendship of two dynamic and generous Houston families.
When Dan Arnold was asked to impart his best life lesson as part of the Houston Oral History Project in 2010, he defined his philosophy in two short sentences: "You've got to put more back into your community than you take from it. You can't be a taker, you've got to be a giver.”
The native Houstonian has been giving back to his community for more than six decades. A lawyer and banker by trade, he has volunteered much of his time to leadership roles that included the creation of the Harris County Hospital District and the Houston Area Urban League, chairmanship of the Metropolitan Transit Authority, the local Red Cross, the Baylor College of Medicine board and a host of other civic causes. Even in his 30s, Dan Arnold was able to get things done with consensus and a spark of humor - he believed in a collaborative approach and solving Houston's problems became his forte.
Along the way, he met an up-and-coming young cardiologist. He and Dr. Bill Winters knew many of the same movers and shakers and shared a common bond – they liked to work behind the scenes and avoid the limelight. Over the years, their children played sports together and the families became friends.
The Arnold's three adult children Alice, Susan and Steven - had long wanted to find a health care cause that would help patients and also honor their parents, but Beverly and Dan Arnold preferred to do things quietly and didn't want their names on anything. However, when their children suggested honoring Dr. Winters - whom they call "Grand Doc" - the Arnolds were on board. They let their friends know about the endowed chair, and their initial generous contribution - complemented with gifts from the Arnold and Winters children, along with 61 friends and community leaders - grew to Houston Methodist's largest endowed chair supported solely through philanthropic funds within just a few weeks.
"To have the Arnold family name on this chair is really very special,” Dr. Winters says.
"I don't know of anybody who's done more for this community than Dan Arnold. I hope the holders of this chair will perpetuate the service, integrity, honesty and sense of excellence that Dan and Beverly have portrayed through the years.”
The presidential distinguished chair provides for the recruitment and retention of cardiology's most gifted physician-scientists and will help sustain and advance Houston Methodist's role as a leader in heart care around the world. As friends and colleagues of Dr. Michael E. DeBakey (1908 – 2008), Dan Arnold and Dr. Winters hope the chair will help preserve Dr. DeBakey's spirit of innovation and pioneering heart research for many more decades.
Dan Arnold and Dr. Winters are men of the same generation, born in 1930 and 1926, respectively. They worked their way to the top of their professions, earning universal respect and long lists of achievements and accolades along the way. They are published authors, mentors and volunteers.
But what remains most important to both is family. They've been married to their wives - Beverly Arnold and Barbara Winters- for more than 60 years and credit them with raising their children to be good, hard-working people. Now, through the Beverly B. and Daniel Arnold Presidential Distinguished Chair in Cardiology in honor of William L. Winters Jr., MD, their families and their friendship are cemented forever in yet another effort to make the world a better place.