Mission Moment: ‘Nothing But Hope’ — Bernie and Billi Marcus on Board

Bernard “Bernie” Marcus resisted the first invitation to tour Shepherd Center. In the late 1970s and early ’80s, he was new to Atlanta and his mind was on The Home Depot, the company he co-founded with Arthur Blank.

“I was very busy, working day and night, trying to open these stores and get them functioning,” said Bernie, who died Nov. 4, 2024. “I had no time, especially to go to a place where people were paralyzed. It was not uplifting, in my mind, and I needed to keep positive.”

But Max Rittenbaum, a neighbor of the Shepherds, persisted. “He just insisted that I go,” Bernie said. “And it was shocking to me that not only didn’t I find despair and people who were just morose, I found nothing but hope. Young people were talking about the fact that they were going to be able to go fishing again, swimming again, skiing again. It was incredible to me. How do you get people thinking so positively? The Shepherds did it.”

Bernie made a small donation after his first visit, then returned about a year later. “He remembered patients by name that he had talked to,” Alana Shepherd says. “Wow! Unbelievable!” Harold Shepherd was so impressed that he wanted Bernie on the hospital board.

As The Home Depot grew, so did Bernie’s support of Shepherd Center. 

Shepherd was one of the top recipients of Bernie’s philanthropy, but far from the only one. Bernie and his wife, Billi, were early signatories of The Giving Pledge and the Jewish Future Pledge, both commitments by some of the country’s wealthiest citizens to give away their money. Bernie pledged to give away 90% of his multi-billion-dollar holdings. 

Billi Marcus also has been a hands-on supporter of Shepherd Center. Among her efforts, Billi chaired a fundraising golf tournament for 16 years, raising more than $3.5 million. Shepherd Center, Billi says, “is the kind of place you hope you never have to go to, but you thank God it’s there if you need it.”

Bernie and Billi raised money for a building that opened in 1992, doubling the hospital’s square footage. Bernie named it after Billi as a birthday gift.

Bernie’s involvement with Shepherd went beyond donating money. The SHARE Military Initiative, which launched in 2008 to treat post-9/11 military personnel and later expanded to include first responders, was his idea. Afterward, he was instrumental in founding the Avalon Action Alliance, which includes centers across the country dedicated to treating military personnel and first responders with traumatic brain injuries and concurrent mental health conditions. Shepherd’s SHARE Military Initiative is a leading player.

One of the most recent gifts by The Marcus Foundation was an $80 million grant in 2022 to fund the Marcus Center for Advanced Rehabilitation, as well as the renovation and clinical expansion of the hospital. Once again, Bernie and Billi Marcus made it possible for more people to have the advantage of Shepherd’s top-of-the-line care, research, and innovation.

For those treated at Shepherd, Bernie said, “Your life has already changed. Now the question is: ‘How are you going to go forward?’ That’s what Shepherd is all about—the going forward.”

Written by Gayle White

This story is an excerpt from “Mission Moments: 50 Years of Rebuilding Lives One Moment at a Time,” a book celebrating Shepherd’s 50th anniversary in 2025.