Laurie Johnston took a gift of $200 more than a half-century ago and turned it into $1 million. The retired pharmacist donated $500,000 on Friday to both the Misericordia Health Centre Foundation and the Riverview Health Centre Foundation.
The impetus for his philanthropy dates back to 1949 when Johnston was a cash-strapped student in his fourth year of pharmacy school. He was considering taking a year off to work when a friend of the family called him over one day and handed him an envelope containing $200.
