The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia recently unveiled a portrait of Paoli residents Ruth M. and Tristram C. Colket, Jr., commissioned in honor of their more than 40 years of generous support of CHOP.

The portrait by Bucks County artist Nelson Shanks will be displayed in the hospital’s Colket Translational Research Building. Tristram Colket, a Campbells Soup Co. heir, and his wife donated $25 million for the building’s construction. Shanks’ portraits depicting celebrities, royalty and political leaders have been featured in exhibitions around the world.

“Ruth and Tris Colket are exemplary philanthropists,” said Dr. Steven M. Altschuler, CHOP CEO. “For more than 40 years, they have committed their expertise, time and support to The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. The portrait of Ruth and Tris is a fitting and permanent tribute to two very special people who have made a transformative difference at CHOP— and in children’s health around the world.”

Ruth Colket is a CHOP Trustee Emerita, as well as a former president and member of the Women’s Committee for more than four decades. The couple also served as honorary co-chairs of the hospital’s “Hope Lives Here” capital campaign. Tris Colket has served on CHOP’s board of trustees since 1969 and was also a longstanding chairman of the CHOP Research Institute.

CHOP reports the Colkets have also established two endowed chairs. The Ruth M. and Tristram C. Colket, Jr., Chair in Pediatric Surgery at CHOP supports research efforts by Alan Flake, M.D., to cure debilitating and deadly conditions such as sickle cell disease before birth. The Ruth M. Colket Chair in Pediatric Nursing supports the research and teaching activities of Barbara Medoff-Cooper, Ph.D., M.D., B.S.N., a recognized expert on infant development. They also created the Colket Lectureship in Nursing, now in its 12th year.

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