The Foundation’s board chair and CEO, Janis MacKenzie and Kim Meredith have issued the following statement in regards to the loss of the legendary Tony Bennett.

San Francisco General Hospital Foundation lost a great friend today with the passing of Tony Bennett.  He was not only a multi-generational musical talent, but he was also an artist and humanitarian who made our lives and our City better. 

His love for San Francisco was not only evidenced in his Grammy-award-winning song, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” but in his second career as an artist and his support of public health.  He painted one of the Foundation’s iconic Hearts in San Francisco sculptures, named “America’s Greatest City by the Bay” (and dubbed the “Tony Bennett Heart”), which was displayed in Union Square for many years, and he performed at the Foundation’s first Heart & Soul fundraising event held on the field at the San Francisco Giants’ ballpark that raised key funds to support Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital. 

The Foundation’s lifetime director Pam Baer says,”Tony and his wife Susan are special friends.  He made San Francisco a world-wide brand, and his voice carried that unique tone that represents San Francisco across the globe.  Tony will always be in our hearts, and his impact and legacy will continue to define San Francisco.”