The Taylorville Memorial Foundation has received a major donation that will help fund new medical equipment for Taylorville Memorial Hospital over the next several years.

The estate of Lorene Montgomery Miley donated 434-thousand dollars to the foundation in December of 2025. Hospital President and CEO Aaron Puchbauer says Miley’s generous spirit was well known throughout Taylorville.

Miley was born in 1914 and grew up near Taylorville in Grove City. She graduated from the Memorial School of Nursing in Springfield in 1935 before moving to New York City, where she worked as an emergency nurse in naval shipyards and later as a nursing supervisor in both industrial and hospital settings.

During a trip back home, she met Taylorville attorney Clark Miley. The two married in 1951, and Lorene later worked as a school nurse in Mt. Auburn. The couple also quietly provided coats and financial assistance to students in need.

Miley remained a longtime supporter of St. Vincent Memorial Hospital, now Taylorville Memorial Hospital, and trusted the hospital for medical care for both herself and her mother. She passed away in 2004.

Foundation Director Katie Champion Williams says the size and impact of the gift took time to fully sink in, adding that Miley’s generosity and foresight will continue benefiting patients throughout the community for years to come. A separate 434-thousand-dollar donation was also made to the Springfield Memorial Foundation in appreciation for the nursing education Miley received there in the early 1930s.

For more information on the TMH Foundation visit their website.