Obituary Nov. 20, 2007 Pilot-Tribune, Blair, NE

Olga R.C. Schulz, 94

Olga R.C. Schulz, 94, died Nov. 9, 2007, at her home in Grand Junction, Colo.

Services were Monday, Nov. 19, at Trinity Lutheran Church in Blair, with interment in the Blair Cemetery.

Olga Rose Christina Schulz was born Oct. 16, 1913, at her parents’ home in Janesville, Minn., to Lydia Augusta Anna Siek and Frederich Heinrich Albert Schulz.

She worked for the newspaper in Blair, working directly with ad client, as well as handling other responsibilities in publishing as newspaper. She was expected to pursue journalism and was encouraged to do so by her employer/publisher.

She chose, instead, to pursue nursing, a career that would lead to dedicating her life to the service and well-being of others.

In 1942, she volunteered to become a member of the Army Nurse Corps to help wounded American soldiers in Europe during World War II. She failed the physical.

Disappointed, but undaunted, she continued her pursuit to help others in a lifetime career of nursing. In addition to becoming a registered nurse, she studied the specialty of anesthesia.

While attending the University of Nebraska, she worked at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, then located in southeast Lincoln. She worked and studied her specialty at Barnes Hospital , an affiliate of Washington University, both located in St. Louis, Mo. While working there as a surgical nurse, she became interested in anesthesia. She studied under Dr. Ivan Scram, the first physician to become successful in laminectomy (lung removal). She taught modern anesthesia at Duke University, located in North Carolina. She continually updated her skills in anesthesia as new drugs and methods were developed.

She moved to Fargo, N.D., working in the hospital there. She joined the Veterans Administration Hospital organization, helping meet the surgery needs of U.S. Armed Forces veterans in VA hospitals in Denver, Colo., and Fort Meade, S.D., before accepting a position as primary anesthetist at the VA hospital in Grand Junction in 1969.

She bought her modest house near the hospital so she could walk to the hospital and arrive there quickly, which she often did for emergencies in the middle of the night.

“Schulzy”, as she was known by to many of the hospital staff, was the only CRNA (Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist) on the VA staff at that hospital for nine years, serving on call, 24 hours a day for both scheduled and emergency surgery.

In 1970, she was the first recipient to receive the VA’s “Hearts and Hands” award, an award recognizing both her medical skills and compassion for her patients. She typically visited her patients several times during the medical testing period, which could be as long as a week, obtaining information, reassuring him, and answering questions. After anesthesia and surgery, she continued to monitor the patient in the recovery room and later in the hospital room. She was recognized for—and loved—her work and her patients.

Her father lived with her after his retirement until he died in 1977.

She retired in 1983 at the age of 69. She continued to be interested in her profession and attended medical seminars in several states. She loved poetry, memorizing and reciting it from childhood on.

After a lifetime of helping others, she continued to live in her house in Grand Junction and was active in her church and community.

She is survived by a nephew, Dave Frese, of Miller; and other friends and relatives.

~~~ Obituary courtesy of the Washington County Genealogical Society. Newspaper clippings on file in the Blair Public Library at Blair, Nebraska.~~~

FindaGrave Memorial # 118823190