History

After 14 years of planning and fundraising, Richard D’Amico and lifetime friend Bob Emfield, along with co-founders of Tommy Bahama, Tony Margolis and Lucio Dalla Gasperina, officially introduced the GARDEN OF HOPE and COURAGE to the Naples Community at the Naples Music Festival on April 4th, 2004.

“The GARDEN is the dream of Bob’s late wife Jan, who died from Breast Cancer in 1994, and is the fulfillment of our promise to her and our gift to those who’s lives have been touched by this horrific disease,” says D’Amico.

Jan Emfield was diagnosed with cancer in 1990. She underwent treatment regime typical in the 90’s including radiation, chemotherapy, lumpectomy and mastectomy. Jan’s idea for the garden came while sitting in her English style backyard garden on Lake Minnetonka in Minnesota. She would regularly meet in her garden with fellow cancer patients. They called her garden the garden of courage and it was in that garden that she would jot down notes and ideas for the garden she began to envision – both how it might look but also how it might be used. Jan had been in remission for almost three years when the doctors determined that the cancer had metastasized to her bones.

As Jan’s condition worsened, Richard D’Amico would bring dinner over to her regularly from his restaurants in Minneapolis. Once he asked what else he could do for her and her response was, “well since you’re asking me, here’s what you can do for me. You can see that the Garden of Hope and Courage becomes a reality.”