Peter Sturges and his wife Sasha Lauterbach photographed by Mark Ostow
When Peter Sturges reflects on his brother Morris’s life, his voice softens with emotion, even decades later. It’s a story about family bonds, difficult choices, and, ultimately, a commitment to ensure that other Cambridge families have the support that wasn’t available in the 1940s.
“Morris’ institutionalization has had a significant impact on our entire family in different ways. It was devastating, absolutely devastating,” Peter shares.
Born in 1941 with Down syndrome, Morris was the second child of Alice and Walter Knight Sturges. They later had four more children.
“My parents had the financial resources to care for Morris at home, but not the support,” Peter explains. “They had absolutely no encouragement from the medical profession, from their religious leaders, from their parents. And as a result, he was institutionalized.”
Following the advice of doctors, priests, and family, Morris, at the age of three, was placed at the Perkins School in Lancaster, Massachusetts. For his mother Alice, the separation was deeply traumatic.
This decision had an enormous impact on the family for decades. Separated from his family, Morris lived in various institutions until his death in 2001 at age 59. Peter and his siblings often wondered how different their lives—and especially Morris’s life—might have been had he remained at home.
“We think Morris would have been loved and enjoyed and appreciated,” Peter reflects. “I think it would have affected how we went through life.”
This powerful family experience inspired Peter and his wife Sasha to establish the Alice Morris Sturges Fund at CCF in 1998.
The Alice Morris Sturges Fund helps families, who have children with developmental disabilities, care for their children at home.
Alice & Morris (circa 1944)
It supports respite care, home care, and educational assistance — helping families who need financial assistance maintain their family unit.
Peter and Sasha also established the Walter Knight Sturges Fund, named for Peter’s father, who was an architect with a passion for art. Every year, this fund recognizes and rewards a student at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, who has demonstrated talent and commitment in the field of visual arts, with a scholarship for their first year of college.
Both funds reflect deep family values and continue to make an impact in Cambridge today. Recently, Peter and Sasha further deepened their commitment to the community by establishing a donor advised fund at CCF, expanding their philanthropic footprint in the city they’ve called home for over five decades.
From left to right: Alice, Tom, Morris, Marie (Circa 1944)
Peter’s appreciation for CCF has only grown over the years: “The Foundation is really looking at what’s happening in the city, what the needs are across the nonprofit community and beyond, and it is incredibly supportive in many different ways. The breadth of what CCF is doing is extraordinary.”
For Peter and Sasha, Cambridge is more than just a place to live—it’s a community they are deeply invested in. Their roots run deep: one of their daughters and her family live in the same two-family house where she grew up and her parents still live. Both of their daughters and two of their grandchildren have graduated from Cambridge Rindge and Latin School.
For over 25 years, the Sturges funds have helped Cambridge families care for each other, and they have supported young artists as they pursue their dreams—turning one family’s poignant history into a legacy of support for generations to come.
CCF is honored to be the home for many philanthropic visions. Interested in exploring a fund of your own? Contact Michal Rubin, vice president of philanthropic partnerships to start the conversation today.
