McKee Foundation Adds TTUHSC El Paso to Decades of Philanthropy

Robert McKee

The Robert E. and Evelyn McKee Foundation in El Paso, Texas, has a history of philanthropy going back to 1952. TTUHSC El Paso was honored to join the long list of organizations the foundation supports when it first donated to the Texas Tech Physicians of El Paso Breast Care Center in 1995.

Since then, the foundation has donated more than $120,000 to the university—most recently, two $10,000 gifts to the Southwest Brain Bank, an organization that collects and studies brain tissue for research on mental disorders.

Linda Gunter, whose grandparents Robert and Evelyn McKee started the foundation, is a trustee. Gunter is delighted the foundation supports the university’s mission of bringing quality health services to El Paso and the surrounding communities.

“I know the other trustees on the board hope that TTUHSC El Paso—the medical school, the nursing school, the research department—will always consider the McKee Foundation when requesting grants. We want to be a part of their continued advancement in the community,” said Gunter.

Louis McKee is the only surviving child of Robert and Evelyn McKee’s eight children. Louis McKee, 84, has been a trustee since 1958 and is now president of the McKee Foundation.

Based in El Paso, Robert McKee ran what was, at the time, the “world’s largest individually owned construction company,” Louis McKee said. The foundation’s office is full of the history of Robert McKee’s construction business, as well as the history of the foundation. Louis McKee works hard keeping that history alive, writing books and creating DVDs that tell his parents’ story.

“We’ve given away nearly $17 million since 1952, despite the fact that we’re not a large foundation, just one that my mother and dad created,” Louis McKee said. “I think they would be glad to see it continuing the way it is.”

With a history of more than 20 years of giving to TTUHSC El Paso, Gunter said she expects the McKee Foundation’s relationship with the university to continue well into the future.