Gene Slusser wanted to make sure he said, “Thank you,” to those who have helped care for his wife, and he said it in a big way.

Slusser, whose donation made building Hopkinton’s Slusser Senior Center possible, recently donated $1 million to the Concord Regional Visiting Nurse Association.

Slusser’s wife, Anne, is battling dementia and the early signs of Alzheimer’s disease, and the visiting nurses have helped her live comfortably at home.

“The fact that they are supplying us help at the house for my wife (is why the donation was made),” said Gene Slusser. “I didn’t want to put her in one of the hospitals, and with their help, she’s here.”

The donation will be spread to a number of areas, including $100,000 to develop two scholarship funds – one for Hopkinton High School graduates who are interested in studying science, math or health, and the other scholarship for the visiting nurses staff members to continue their education.

In addition to the scholarships, Slusser’s donation will also help the Concord Regional Visiting Nurse Association move into a new building, as $500,000 will help purchase the building and $400,000 for furnishings.

“We were stunned and very pleased by the donation,” said Eileen Male of the Concord Regional Visiting Nurse Association. “With this gift, we’ll be able to get state-of-the-art information technology equipment, and that’s very important. It helps us keep up with everything that’s going on with home care.”

According to Male, one of the rooms the donation will help furnish is a high-tech training room for the nurses, including computers, projectors and TVs.

“That was my idea. I told them what to use it for. I knew they needed money for their furnishings,” said Gene Slusser. “They’ve been wonderful. They come to my house and help me with taking care of Anne. It’s a first-class operation.”

Slusser said he wanted to make sure the donation helped benefit his hometown as well as others in the area, which is why he wanted to incorporate the Hopkinton High School scholarships.

“My idea was that some of the money should go back to our town, and to our town kids,” he said.

According to Male, having his wife at home with him has been something extremely important to Slusser.

“She has been in our care for some time, and I think they’ve come to depend on our care,” said Male. “Mr. Slusser depends on us to have his wife be able to stay at home, and that’s what means everything to him, to be able to still have that time with her.”

Both sides are excited about the large gift.

“I think they’re pleased they could give us such a gift, and we are totally pleased,” said Male. Slusser said he was glad to see the CRVNA’s reaction to his gift.

“They were excited, very happy and pleased to hear about it. It will facilitate getting their new building furnished and other opportunities for them,” said Slusser. “It’s money they didn’t really have and they now have.”

Live together

The Slussers first met during an air raid drill in 1942 when they ran into each other in the hallway at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where Gene Slusser was working at the time.

The couple moved to Hopkinton in 1954 and he founded Aerotronic Associates in 1958, a company that made equipment to test semi-conductors.

Slusser’s business was making about $18 million a year when he sold it and retired in 1984. The couple then spent their free time flying in their private plane. Gene Slusser has had a passion for flying since he first flew at the age of 15, and he still enjoys his plane.