U.S. President Woodrow Wilson once observed that “friendship is the only cement that will ever hold the world together.”

If true, it explains why Mike A. Myers and Curtis W. Meadows Jr. have been stuck with each other for more than 60 years.

The two met as students at The University of Texas at Austin. Eager to change the world, they followed similar paths. After graduation, both stayed at their alma mater for law school before settling in Dallas.

Mr. Myers became a successful real estate developer and banker. A native of Olney, Texas, the businessman and civic leader was instrumental in creating the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, which serves as the state’s authority on public higher education. An advocate for health care, he served on Southwestern Medical Foundation’s Board of Trustees from 2006 to 2015 before being named an Honorary Trustee. In 2017, the same year he was named Dallas-Fort Worth’s Entrepreneur of the Year, the Foundation honored him with its highest community distinction, The Sprague Award.

Mr. Meadows practiced law for 17 years before becoming President and Director of The Meadows Foundation. Created by Mr. Meadows’ uncle, Algur H. Meadows, the organization is among the largest private foundations in Texas. A founding board member of the National Center for Family Philanthropy, Mr. Meadows has served as a board member for more than 60 nonprofit organizations, including the personal foundation of his friend, Mr. Myers.

When Mr. Meadows recently retired from the Myers Foundation Board, Mr. Myers wanted to honor him with a gift to a favorite charity. Mr. Meadows asked him to consider donating to UT Southwestern Medical Center’s Palliative and Supportive Care Team in honor of Steven Leach, M.D., the institution’s Chief of Palliative Medicine.

Both men, as well as several members of their families, have been patients of Dr. Leach. For Mr. Myers, it was a welcome opportunity to make an additional gift to the Palliative Care Program to honor his longtime friend and make a difference for his trusted doctor of more than 25 years.

“Not only are they generous with their time, talents, and wisdom, but they are the most thoughtful and caring people you will ever meet,” he said, describing Mr. Meadows and Dr. Leach. “Their integrity is above reproach, and their hearts for others are beyond comparison. It is my privilege to call them my friends.”

UT Southwestern’s Palliative and Supportive Care Team provides specialized care for patients and families living with serious and terminal illnesses. Helping patients live with the best possible quality of life, the team works to manage symptoms and support mental health and social care needs.

Patients facing chronic illnesses or terminal diseases often feel anxious, isolated, and vulnerable when dealing with treatment decisions and end-of-life care. Palliative care physicians help manage symptoms, relieve pain, and comfort and empower patients and caregivers as they make difficult medical decisions.

"Palliative care is a relatively new specialty, so the field is evolving,” said Dr. Leach, who also serves as Professor and Associate Vice Chair of Clinical Operations for UT Southwestern’s Department of Internal Medicine. “This gift will help recruit a senior faculty member who will serve as a national leader in palliative care and mentor younger palliative care faculty.”

For Mr. Meadows, his friend’s philanthropy exemplifies the generosity that has impacted their careers in the intervening years since those memorable days spent on the 40 acres.

“‘Pay it forward’ has been a theme in Mike’s life as he earned scholarships that enabled him to get his education,” Mr. Meadows said. “He knew Dr. Leach would encourage medical students as they came under his influence and would be a living example of what compassionate care means in medicine.”

• Dr. Leach holds the Irene Wadel and Robert Atha, Jr. Professorship of Internal Medicine, in Honor of John W. Burnside, M.D.