In memory

1940s                        

Grace Clifford 40N of Peachtree City, Ga., on July 13, 2013. She was 96. 

Juanita C. Schmierer 41N of Pitts, Ga., on May 28, 2015, at age 95.  She married Col. Elmer Schmierer in 1943 before serving in the Emory University Field Hospital unit during WW II. She spent the next 26 years traveling around the world as the spouse of a career army officer. After he retired in 1972, the couple lived in Indian Hills in Marietta, Ga., until his death in 1996. In 2002, Schmierer moved to Florida, where she lived for 13 years. She was an active church member, crossword puzzle enthusiast, pianist, and golfer. She especially loved her dogs Jerry, Sandy, Sweetie, and Ellie. Survivors include children Dan and Kathy, seven grandchildren, and 10 great-grandchildren.

Mary Barfield 43N of Augusta, Ga., on May 7, 2014, at age 92. She served as a nurse with the Army Medical Corps during WW II. Survivors include her husband, five children, 17 grandchildren, and 26 great-grandchildren. 

Patricia Butler King 43N of Lafayette, Tenn., on May 18, 2011. She was 89.

Phoebe B. Neel 46N of Thomasville, Ga., on Feb. 21, 2014.

Mary Frances Nall 47N of Thomaston, Ga., on July 16, 2014, at age 90. She worked as an RN for many years at Upson Regional Medical Center and was director of nursing at Providence Nursing Home. She also taught at Upson High School, was a nursing instructor at Gordon College, a public health nurse for Upson County, and a nurse with the county Mental Health Association chapter. She was a member of Thomaston First United Methodist Church, where she was active in the Service Sunday School and UMC Women. Survivors include three children, 10 grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren.

Rosemary D. Harvey 48N of Orlando, Fla., on Aug. 16, 2014, at age 84. She taught special education for more than 30 years at Windermere Elementary. She was a lifelong resident of Orange County and a member of First Presbyterian Church of Orlando. Survivors include two children, five grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren.

Betty J. Wilkins 48N of Destin, Fla., on May 4, 2015, at age 87. After graduation, she moved to Tallahassee to serve at a hospital and at Florida State University for many years. When her husband, Lt. Col. Robert Wilkins, retired, they chose Destin as their home. Survivors include son Michael, sister Sue Rose, sister-in-law Jan, and many cousins.

Barbara B. Roney 49N of St. Clair Shores, Mich., on Oct. 20, 2014, at age 87. She was preceded in death by her husband Richard and son Kevin. Survivors include son Brian, daughter-in-law Jeannie, and grandsons Michael and David.

1950s                        

Jennie Fletcher Wright 51N in Orlando, Fla., on Feb. 18, 2015, at age 90. She enlisted in the Women’s Army Corps during WW II. She attained the rank of corporal and worked as a postal clerk in Bad Tolz, Germany, at Third U.S. Army headquarters under the command of General George Patton. After the war, she moved to Orlando where she met her husband, Murray Wright. They married in Atlanta in 1950 while she was in nursing school. After graduation, they moved back to Orlando, where she worked as an RN at Orange Memorial Hospital on the labor and delivery ward and at the Orange County Health Department. Wright retired in 1980 as a supervisor with Children’s Medical Services. Survivors include her husband, two daughters, and many nieces and nephews.

Dorothy Jean Allen 54N of Cambridge, Md., on May 16, 2014.

Norma Jean Willis Stuckman 56N of Atlanta on Jan. 11, 2015, at age 81. After graduation, she worked at Emory as a private duty nurse and in psychiatric care. She was preceded in death by her son, Stuart. Survivors include her husband John, daughter Elizabeth, a daughter-in-law and her second husband, and two grandsons.

1960s                    

Jean Johnson Givens 62MN of Atlanta on June 1, 2015, at age 101. She was raised in the old family home place in Druid Hills near Emory on Oakdale Road, a major property that had been in the Johnson family since the Civil War. Givens and her mother were both graduates of Wesley Memorial Hospital and Training School for Nurses, the predecessor of Emory’s School of Nursing. She worked as a nursery school teacher and school nurse and, after completing her master’s in nursing at Emory, taught nursing students at Georgia State University and nursing and medical services at Piedmont Hospital School of Nursing. After taking the first nurse practitioner course offered by Emory, she worked for Emory Community Nursing Services. 

Givens was passionate about gardening and in 1979 became one of the first graduates of Georgia’s Master Gardener program. She wrote several articles and books, including Back to Basics: A Guide to Horticulture in the South and Through the Gates with Jean. In 2014, when she was 100, the Lullwater Garden Club placed a bench in her honor in the Lullwater Garden in Druid Hills. DeKalb County and the State of Georgia also commended her for her horticultural expertise. Survivors include three children, six grandchildren, a cousin, and many nieces and nephews.

Lou Ann Bennett 64MN of Memphis, Tenn., on Feb. 16, 2014, at age 76. She taught nursing for 25 years and enjoyed crocheting hats for the homeless. Survivors include her husband Donald, daughters Elisa and Jennifer, and granddaughter Nataly. 

Nancy Gilliland 65MN of Anderson, S.C., on Oct. 6, 2014, at age 88. She retired from the nursing faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she was a member of University Presbyterian Church. Survivors include siblings Shelly and Jack and seven nieces and nephews.

Doris Davis 69MN of Chattanooga, Tenn., on Aug. 4, 2011, at age 92. She was a retired nurse and educator and a member of the Collegedale Seventh-day Adventist Church. Survivors include two daughters, a sister, five grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren.

1970s                      

Patricia Wyatt Pedelty 74N of Atlanta on June 26, 2015. She is survived
by her husband Steve.

1980s                        

Deborah (Debra) DeBack-Wright 80MN of Tallahassee, Fla., on July 16, 2015. After graduating from Emory with a master’s in psychiatric nursing, she worked at the Tallahassee Pain and Stress Management Institute as a psychologist/ARNP. In 1984, she met the “love of her life,” Stephen Wright. They married in 1986 and established a psychotherapy practice in 1990. 

Diagnosed with ALS in 2012, she wrote her own obituary, saying that she was humbled and grateful for the love of friends and family and their declarations of how she had made a difference in their lives. Survivors include her husband, three sisters, many nieces and nephews, and her fur babies Rhona and Chicka. 

Karen K. Bernard 81MN of Monterey, Calif., on Nov. 20, 2011. She was 72.

Ruth C. Chatfield 83N of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., on Nov. 22, 2014, at age 58. She worked at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla., specializing in pain management and IV nutrition. She published several medical articles on both subjects and enjoyed a successful career in medical device sales. Later, Chatfield co-founded, launched, and worked as the VP of marketing for a thriving international business in Ft. Lauderdale. Survivors include three nieces, two aunts, two uncles, many cousins and friends, and her dog Chardonnay.

Dawn Disher Perivier 83N of Atlanta on April 20, 2015. She was 54.

Kathryn (Kathy) Gamble 88MN of Gainesville, Fla., on March 8, 2015, at age 55, from complications following a stroke. She was a nurse at University of Florida Health Shands for most of her 30-year career, specializing in pediatric oncology nursing. She later assumed a variety of administrative roles in the UF Department of Nursing, culminating in serving as administrative director for nursing quality and regulatory programs. She remained an avid UF Gator fan. Survivors include two sons, three sisters, her parents, and several nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Gail C. Sehr 89MN of Tucker, Ga., on Feb. 19, 2011. She was 67.

1990s                        

Frances Sadler Roberts 92N of Eatonton, Ga., on April 19, 2015, at age 62. She began her nursing career in Eatonton at Putnam General Hospital as a clinical nurse. She later moved to Atlanta after accepting a nursing position at Crawford Long Hospital. She advanced to the position of operating room nurse manager, serving until her illness and subsequent retirement in 2013. Roberts went on a Christian mission trip with SmileTrain, which provided free cleft lip and palate repair surgery for children in Quito, Ecuador. She volunteered for Hosea Feed the Hungry and Homeless in Atlanta and entered marathons and running events to support various charities. Survivors include her husband Marvin, a stepson, six siblings, two grandchildren, six nephews, and six nieces.

2000s                        

Amelia Basat Miller 00N of Kernersville, N.C., on Dec. 7, 2009. She was 37.