The Nation - News from Nov. 18, 1988

Maria DeSillers agreed to withdraw claims against the estate of her son, Ronnie, and a Miami judge ordered a thrift to pay $25,000 to the trust, ending legal battles that began after the boy’s death last year. After legal expenses are paid, the remaining money in the trust will be given to the Governor’s Transplant Lifeline for Children fund, a clearinghouse for children who need transplants, said the court-appointed curator of the Ronnie DeSillers trust, Karen Gievers. Dade County Circuit Judge Francis Christie ordered Coral Gables Savings & Loan Assn. to pay $25,000 to the trust. In exchange, the estate agreed to drop a lawsuit against the thrift, Gievers said. Gievers had petitioned the court to recover $260,000 from the thrift, alleging funds donated for the 7-year-old boy and other sick children were improperly withdrawn by Maria DeSillers. Ronnie died April 27, 1987, awaiting a fourth liver transplant. He gained national attention after donations for his medical treatment raised by his schoolmates were stolen.