New Windsor-Essex hospital to be named after local family with $40-million donation

The Fancsy Family Hospital naming announcement in Windsor, Ont., on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025. (Stefanie Masotti/CTV News Windsor)

The New Windsor/Essex Acute Care Hospital will be named The Fancsy Family Hospital.

Hospital officials announced Tuesday it is in recognition of a transformational gift of approximately $40 million from the estate of the late John Thomas Fancsy.

The gift announcement at the site of the new hospital was attended by members of the Fancsy family, Premier Doug Ford, Minister of Health Sylvia Jones, local dignitaries and community leaders, along with John’s two beloved Labradors.

Hospital officials said this donation is the largest ever received by the Windsor Regional Hospital Foundation and the largest publicly-known gift in the Windsor-Essex Region.

“John’s legacy gift is an extraordinary act of generosity,” said Karen Riddell, acting president and CEO and Chief Nursing Executive of Windsor Regional Hospital. “We are immensely grateful and deeply honoured that the new hospital will bear the Fancsy family’s name.”

The Fancsy Family

John was a brilliant engineer who went on to join the family business after graduating with a degree in mathematics from the University of Guelph and a degree in engineering from the University of Windsor. As a wine connoisseur, he joined his brother Stephen to found the award-winning Viewpointe Estate Winery in Harrow. John had a passion for supporting local endeavours and was instrumental in establishing Essex County as a premier destination for wine enthusiasts. The Fancsy family has deep ties to Windsor-Essex and played a vital role in shaping the local automotive sector.

John’s grandfather, Stephen Fancsy, co-founded major auto parts manufacturing companies, actively growing the sector and employing thousands of people locally.John’s late mother, Antoinette (née Goyeau), came from a family whose roots date back to early French settlement in Windsor-Goyeau Street spans what was once the Goyeau family farm. She also studied nursing and worked at Hôtel-Dieu Hospital, now Windsor Regional Hospital’s Ouellette Campus.

John’s parents, Antoinette and Steve, had a long history of quiet generosity in the community, a value they instilled in their children from a young age. Like John, Antoinette included a generous gift to the new hospital in her will, and upon her passing in 2016, she was among the first to request that donations in her memory be made to the new hospital. Guided by his parents’ selfless example, John channeled his deep passion for his community into making a meaningful and lasting impact on healthcare throughout the region.

As a life-long resident of Windsor-Essex, John was always looking for ways to help this area grow and prosper, according to his five siblings. They say his generosity is something John learned from his parents, and they are proud the new hospital will be named in their honour.

In recognition of this transformational gift, the Boards of Windsor Regional Hospital and Windsor Regional Hospital Foundation voted to name the new hospital “The Fancsy Family Hospital.”

WRH said this decision is consistent with other hospital namings across the province and the approach is supported by the Government of Ontario.

While hospitals in the province are primarily paid for by the province, the local community is responsible for funding 10 per cent of hospital construction costs, as well as 100 per cent of the furniture, fixtures, equipment, parking and shell space.