When Roger Abbott was diagnosed with Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS) in 2011, his family had no idea how his diagnosis would affect the next few years of their lives or how his legacy would continue to change the lives of others after he was gone.
MDS is an umbrella term for a group of blood cancers that affect the bone marrow. In these cancers, blood cells made in the bone marrow don’t mature properly, resulting in a shortage of healthy blood cells and platelets. There is no cure for MDS, and a bone marrow transplant wasn’t a realistic option due to Roger’s age. Instead, he began receiving weekly and eventually twice-weekly blood and platelet transfusions. Roger received both his diagnosis and his transfusions at Versiti (then the Blood Center of Wisconsin). Those regular transfusions gave Roger more than just healthy blood cells and platelets: They gave him and his family time.
“What treatment allowed us was three extra years of memories,” says Justin Abbott, Roger’s son. “He was able to be there for my sister’s wedding and the birth of her child. We wouldn’t trade those years and those memories for anything.”
After Roger passed away with his family by his side in December 2015, Justin returned to work and was touched when two of his colleagues at Risk Strategies (then Johnson Insurance), Tim Bever and Todd Schober, suggested hosting a golf outing to raise funds for Versiti and MDS research in Roger’s honor.
Roger’s connections to Racine and to his community ran deep. He had been president and chairman of Johnson Insurance, served as president of Independent Insurance Agents of Wisconsin, and was actively involved in the United Way. So, when word began to spread about the golf outing fundraiser, a lot of partners, insurance carriers, and other business community members wanted to get involved and honor Roger’s memory, too.
“The golf outing event quickly grew beyond anything we could have imagined,” says Justin. “People really stepped up, including people who didn’t even know my father, but they wanted to help any way they can. It’s amazing how many people come up to me at the golf outing and share that a family member is going through something similar, whether it’s leukemia or a blood disease.”
The first golf outing in Roger’s honor was in 2019. Only six years later, the Abbott family and their partners have raised more than $100,000 for research at Versiti, and the now-annual event always sells out at the Meadowbrook Country Club in Racine.
“Only 144 golfers can participate, because that’s literally the number of golfers the course can hold,” Justin says, adding that the event includes a dinner and an auction, as well, and that he hopes to continue to expand the event in years to come. “In 2025, we made it a goal to raise $25,000 at that year’s event — our highest yet — and we surpassed it. All of us getting together, donating what we can… it makes a really big impact.”
When Justin thinks about his father’s legacy and what he would think of the golf outing and fundraiser, he says Roger would be ecstatic.
“He was an amazing philanthropist himself, and he was all about giving back. I know he’s watching, and although we still don’t have a cure for MDS, we’re getting there. He even said before he passed that he knew there wasn’t going to be anything that would save him from that nasty disease, but if one of his grandchildren someday had something like this… he wanted there to be a cure or a treatment.”
With the Abbot family reaching its 7th annual golf outing in 2026, Versiti is proud to partner with the Abbott family and keep advancing lifesaving blood health solutions and research for patients like Roger and families facing MDS and other blood disorders. Each donation and dollar raised through the Abbott family’s annual golf outing helps move the mission forward.
“With this golf outing event, we’re taking my father’s lead,” Justin says. “Bringing people together and working towards a better future.”