Both James and Betty Wentzler have a life-long passion for anesthesiology. Their interest in the field and devotion to Jefferson led them to establish an endowed chair of anesthesiology, one of only eight in the nation. “My husband has always been grateful to Jefferson for the start it gave him in his career,” says Mrs. Wentzler, “We want Jefferson anesthesiology to be the best in the world.”

The Wentzlers funded the chair by establishing two different trusts, a two-life gift annuity, and a two-life charitable remainder unitrust. The trusts support the work of the department head, Zvi Grunwald, MD, who is the first to hold the title of James Donald Wentzler, MD Chair of Anesthesiology.

Dr. Wentzler, a 1946 graduate of Jefferson Medical College, served with the U. S. Public Health Service of the Coast Guard. After completing his residency at the Mayo Clinic, he was in private practice in Ketchikan, AK, and Williamsport and Lewisburg, PA. In 1973, Dr. Wentzler took a sabbatical leave to be a guest anesthesiologist at the Maxmillian Surgical Klinik in Erlangen, West Germany.

The daughter of an anesthesiologist, Betty Wentzler was trained in nursing and anesthesia at the Pennsylvania Hospital School of Nursing and became a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA). She worked at Pennsylvania Hospital and at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York. Mrs. Wentzler was a staff anesthetist at Pennsylvania Hospital and Muncy Valley Hospital, and worked on Dr. Wentzler's staff for ten years. Dr. and Mrs. Wentzler participated in five medical missionary assignments in Haiti, Honduras, and Alaska.