Remembering the Lost
Arizona
Daily Wildcat
Wednesday October 30, 2002
Spiritual nurse, counselor, volunteer chaplain, role model
By Nate Buchik
Arizona Daily Wildcat
From
the classes she taught on death and dying to the UA students she
counseled on loss and grief, death was always a part of associate
nursing professor Cheryl McGaffic's life, as she was concerned about
patients near death and lectured often on the special care that these
patients must be given.
Spirituality
was a focal point of McGaffic's life and she was nearing a transition
phase where she was planning on giving up nursing and becoming either
an Episcopalian chaplain or pursuing a master's degree in divinity from
UA, friends and family said.
"She
strove to get student's in touch with their spirituality so students
could pass that on to their patients. She believed every person had a
spiritual side that transcended religion," said Linda Maerz, a family
spokeswoman who spoke on behalf of Cheryl McGaffic's husband, Walter.
McGaffic embodied what it is to be a nurse, said McGaffic's
friend, UA nursing professor Joann Glittenberg.
"She
was not just a sitting at the desk, talking nurse. She was deeply
concerned about patients and cried when they couldn't save people," she
said.
Glittenberg
felt that McGaffic's spirituality and gift to heal were so strong that
they worked in her classroom to protect students after she was killed
on Monday.
"When
she left us, I think her angels came and directed his gun away from the
other students. He had 250 rounds. Her last sort of will must have been
to save the students. You always sensed that the students were first in
her life," she said.
McGaffic, 44, was known to help people deal with death,
Maerz said.
"She
gravitated to the most desperate people. She was an informal loss
counselor. She had a gift to connect to people experiencing loss," she
said.
Glittenberg
felt that McGaffic would have wanted to help counsel people after this
tragedy, but would have advice for all those who were grieving. "After
(this tragedy) she would have said, Ôø‡fill the space of evil with
love,'" Gittenberg said.
McGaffic
was also an avid volunteer, serving as a chaplain at University Medical
Center and on the Tucson AIDS Project's Board of Directors.
"She
told me she was not afraid of death. She said, Ôø‡I know what my future
is.' Just about a week ago she said to me, Ôø‡You know, I'm filled with
bliss because I finally know the path that I have to take.' She said Ôø‡I
am so content,'" Glittenberg added.
McGaffic was born in Phoenix and earned her doctorate and
bachelor's degrees in nursing from the UA.
A scholarship for nursing students in memory of McGaffic is
being set up by the AACCN.
Brittany Manson contributed to this report.
Inspirational, dedicated, bright and passionate
By Brittany
Manson
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Barbara Monroe was known for her dedication to her students,
her bright personality and sense of humor.
Monroe, 45, came to class dressed as a hospital patient for
a Halloween costume contest at the college Monday.
"Barbara
was the most inspirational person and was never afraid of anyone," said
Monica Pilar Lawrence, president of the Tucson chapter of the American
Association of Critical Care Nurses.
Monroe was a clinical assistant professor and critical care
nurse educator at University Medical Center.
"She
was described as a role model for all other nursing faculty," according
to a statement by the Arizona Health Sciences College.
Monroe taught at the University of Phoenix before coming to
the UA last fall.
"She
was passionate about what she did and challenged the students to
learn," said Liz Gaalswijk, a former student in Monroe's critical care
class at the University of Phoenix. "She was a special person and I
hope that her husband and the community know what a loss it is to not
have an educator like her in the community. The impact is phenomenal."
Monroe
started her career in Wisconsin, where she earned her registered
nurse's license in 1984. She earned her master's degree in 1993 from
ASU.
She served as regional director of AACCN for a five-state
area.
"We put on a career day with the Girl Scouts and she stayed
all day," Lawrence said.
Monroe
was known in the AHSC as someone who was dedicated to her students and
considered a role model for other clinical faculty members.
"She was very knowledgeable and committed to helping
students," said fifth-semester nursing student Lisa Lentini.
Lawrence, with the AACCN, is setting up a scholarship in
memory of Monroe to benefit local students in the field of nursing.
Kind and caring wife, mother, teacher, researcher
By Nate
Buchik & James Kelley
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Family, friends and students remember Robin E. Rogers as
devoutly religious, very caring and a good professor.
Robin
Rogers, 50, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel and mother of two,
met her husband, Phillip Rogers, in the Air Force at Scott Air Force
Base in Illinois, where they were both stationed in 1975. The couple
celebrated their 25th anniversary in July.
"The
memory I want for my wife is that she was a kind, caring person. Not
only as part of the nursing profession, but in personal life as well,"
Phillip Rogers said. "She was great at her job, both when she was in
the Air Force and as an instructor. She was also a great wife and a
great mother. We'll miss her greatly."
Rogers
was a clinical nursing assistant professor who began teaching at the UA
in 1996. She received her certificate as a pediatric nurse practitioner
at UA in 1979.
Rogers also did scholarly research on the nursing
profession, which earned her the Dean's Research Award in 1999-2000.
"I
have a lot of memories. Just whether they be simple things or not. We
enjoyed time together even if it was as quiet as sitting in the same
room and reading," Phillip Rogers said. "It wasn't unusual at all for
us to just be sitting there reading at the same time."
This
semester, Robin Rogers, whose area of clinical expertise was Pediatrics
and Neonatal care, was teaching "Health Experiences of Human Systems:
Children."
"She
was devoted to work, she sang at church every week and helped in the
services. She loved her kids a lot. She was a good person. It sounds
clichÔø‡d but it's true," said Jeremy Slavin, a political science junior
and friend of her son, John, a student at NAU. "Pray for the family.
Keep them in their hearts Ôø‡ it's like losing a member of your family, a
second family."
Rogers' lifelong faith comforted her in difficult times, her
husband said.
"She
had a very strong belief in God. She had that from an early age. And I
believe that that was always a comfort to her in times of trial and
stress," Phillip Rogers said
The premeditated killing of Robin Rogers comes as a shock to
nursing students who knew Rogers.
"I
can't imagine anyone wanting to do this to her. I can't understand it,"
said Angelica Chacon, a third-semester nursing student.
Robin
Rogers is survived by her husband and twin 21-year-old children. Her
son John, is a student at NAU and her daughter, Rachel, is a UA
nutritional sciences junior.
Brittany Manson contributed to this report
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