HERSHEY, Pa. — The David and Jeanne Reager Laboratories at Penn State Cancer Institute were dedicated during a special ceremony on Nov. 14. The naming of these labs recognizes a $1 million bequest from the late David W. Reager, and honors his and his widow Jeanne R. Reager’s generous commitment to Penn State.
With this gift, the Reagers established a non-endowed fund to be utilized for projects at the discretion of Dr. Raymond Hohl, director of Penn State Cancer Institute, professor of medicine and pharmacology at Penn State College of Medicine and trusted physician of Dave Reager.
“Leaders like Dr. Hohl and his colleagues are pursuing the kind of field-defining cancer research that has the potential to improve human health now and for generations to come. This critical work is only possible with the support of incredible philanthropic partners like Dave and Jeanne Reager. I am immensely grateful for their generosity,” said Dr. Karen Kim, dean of Penn State College of Medicine.
In 2022, Dave Reager was diagnosed with leukemia, and following initial care received elsewhere, he became a patient of Hohl’s at Penn State Cancer Institute. The two developed a close rapport, and Reager credited Hohl for extending his life. After a courageous battle, Reager passed away in August 2023.
“Dave was deeply grateful for the care he received at Penn State Cancer Institute and for the supportive relationship he had with Dr. Hohl. It meant a great deal to us to honor this exceptional physician and leader by supporting the institute’s cancer research. I hope that through our gift, many more patients will experience the kind of expert, compassionate care that my husband received,” said Jeanne Reager.
Reager, born in 1946, was a two-time Penn State alumnus. He earned his bachelor’s degree in finance in 1969 and his MBA in 1971. He received his juris doctorate from Temple University in 1974. In 1979 he became a founding member of Reager & Adler, PC, Attorneys and Counselors at Law, in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, where he was president and most recently practiced in the areas of real estate law, business law, estate planning and administration. Reager previously served as an assistant attorney general with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He was active in real estate development and involved in numerous businesses over the years. Although he established a career in business and law, he also loved science, having won several awards in high school for biology and chemistry.
Jeanne and Dave met while she was attended nursing school; Jeanne had asked him for some tutoring in chemistry and they married shortly thereafter. In addition to supporting Dave in his various business ventures, Jeanne worked at Gannett Flemming in administration for 13 years before starting her own company, Contract Coatings. She and Dave’s late sister, Pamela Reager, co-founded the business that served as a paint distributor offering specialized commercial painting products in the tri-state area until 2006 when she retired. Jeanne has served on the board of the YWCA, West Shore Meals on Wheels and Altrusa of South Central PA. The couple were married for 50 years prior to Dave’s passing.
“It was a privilege to get to know Dave during his treatment at the Cancer Institute, especially his curiosity and inquisitive nature, and I am honored that he and Jeanne entrusted me with his care,” said Hohl, who himself is an active translational and basic science cancer researcher and who was appointed chair of the Cancer Center Directors Committee for the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium in May 2024. “Thanks to the Reagers’ remarkable generosity, we can better pursue important research toward our goal of reducing the burden of cancer in central Pennsylvania and beyond.”
As proud Penn Staters, the Reagers have also supported the University by creating the David W. and Jeanne R. Reager Scholarship in the Smeal College of Business in 2016 and making an estate commitment to establish the future David W. and Jeanne R. Reager Graduate Fellowship for the J. Jeffrey and Ann Marie Fox Graduate School, which will support students pursuing graduate degrees in the Smeal College of Business.
Donors like the Reagers advance the University’s historic land-grant mission to serve and lead. Through philanthropy, alumni and friends are helping students to join the Penn State family and prepare for lifelong success; driving research, outreach and economic development that grow our shared strength and readiness for the future; and increasing the University’s impact for families, patients and communities across the commonwealth and around the world. Learn more by visiting raise.psu.edu.