When Andrew Hano, D.O.’77, met Vicki Hano at a disco in Des Moines in 1977, neither could have predicted the encounter would lead to 45 years of love, marriage and shared adventures. Together, they built a family and a legacy of care that now gives back to the place that set their paths in motion.
Two Lives Intertwined
The couple’s meeting in 1977 was serendipitous, but their shared connection to the same campus made it seem like destiny. Andrew, a New York native and Northwestern University graduate, arrived in Des Moines in 1974 to pursue a career in osteopathic medicine at the newly relocated College of Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery. The college was on the cusp of innovation and growth as it had recently moved to the former location of St. Joseph Academy. Vicki, a Des Moines native and a 1972 graduate of St. Joseph Academy, belonged to the last class to walk the halls of the all-girls high school before the building transitioned to a medical college. Though they unknowingly shared the same campus just a year apart, their meeting years later at the disco sealed their futures.
The Journey of a Lifetime
From those early days in Des Moines, Andrew and Vicki built a thriving oncology practice in St. Petersburg, Florida. After raising a family and retiring, the couple knew the time had come to give back.
“We are thankful to be able to give back now because it wasn’t always easy,” Vicki adds. “Andrew worked so hard in those first years before he really got his footing. I remember working at the front desk in his first office. I helped with billing and I even had to assist with a bone marrow biopsy once.” The Hanos decided to make a meaningful and lasting planned gift to DMU to honor their shared journey and support future health care professionals trained at the university.
“We have been lucky enough to be able to help our children, our grandchildren, travel the world, and we’ve been able to live our lives to the fullest. We felt it was only right to give back to the institution that made it all possible,” Andrew says. “I want to give back so that the young students today can keep learning, growing and eventually graduate and succeed in their careers because of the education they had at DMU.”
Giving Back With a Planned Gift
The Hanos expressed their gratitude through a planned gift to DMU to help future medical professionals.
A planned gift is a thoughtful, strategic form of charitable giving that allows donors to leave a lasting impact. It is typically arranged during a donor’s lifetime but fulfilled later through wills, trusts or other financial instruments. “We want to help others find their footing,” Andrew says. “Just as DMU helped us find ours.”
A Piece of the Past
Vicki and Andrew Hano, D.O.’77, proudly display a piece of DMU’s history in their home — a small piece of stained glass that once adorned the St. Joseph Academy campus, where the College of Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery began a new chapter in the 1970s. The glass serves as a reminder of the campus that helped shape their futures and connected past.
Make a Gift
To learn more about planned giving and how to create a meaningful legacy at DMU, visit dmu.myplannedgift.org
