Capt. Margaret C. Donoghue in
May 1979.

In April 2012, the university lost one of its dear nursing alumni… Capt. Margaret Cathlene Donoghue NC, USN, ’54 BSN. Anyone who knew “Maggie” would tell you she was larger than life. Donoghue stood six feet tall and projected herself in a way that demanded attention. Her commanding presence was integral to who she was professionally and personally.

Her tough outer shell was softened by her heart of gold. In her role as director of nursing for several naval hospitals, Donoghue was a teacher and leader. She was concerned for the growth and development of the nurses, hospital corpsmen and others in her charge. There are many nurses around the world who would remember her for giving them the nudge to further their education and pursue a professional degree.

Whether in her role of a patient, provider, or administrator, Donoghue would offer others encouragement and advice. Even when she broke her hip and was convalescing at home, she took the opportunity to encourage her home health provider to return to school.

As an officer Donoghue was an influential member of the Navy Nurse Corps. She always had an eye to the future where it pertained to nursing and health care, particularly in how the role of nurses was evolving and developing. She helped shape personnel policies and was influential in directing how the Navy Nurse Corps evolved as a professional organization. Donoghue identified a need and advocated for the development of the nurse practitioner in adult care as part of the Navy’s nursing program.

As an administrator Donoghue spoke with the patients directly and was involved with the nursing staff. Her management style took her directly into the patient care areas where she interacted with patients and all levels of hospital/clinic staff. It was clear that she was a true advocate for high quality nursing care.

Her career spanned 41 years. The last 28 of which were served with the U.S. Navy. After 12 duty stations all over the country and overseas, Donoghue retired from the Naval Hospital in San Diego in 1986 and continued to live in California. She was an avid sports fan and an accomplished tennis player and golfer.

A native Texan, Donoghue came home one last time for interment at Ft. Sam Houston. Friends from across the country gathered in San Antonio for the services. Afterwards, Donoghue’s friends congregated at the Brackenridge Villa for lunch and a celebration of her life.

Donoghue’s friends will tell you that anyone who knew her benefitted from her generous and giving spirit; that generosity has continued at UIW. Her estate has provided over $600,000 to establish The Capt. Margaret C. Donoghue, NC, USN Nursing Scholarship Endowment. The endowment will provide scholarships to UIW nursing majors seeking undergraduate, graduate, and doctorate degrees in nursing.

Donoghue’s passion for nursing and concern for the betterment of others was indeed larger than life. Although she is no longer with us, through her legacy at Incarnate Word, she will continue to encourage and provide for the growth and development of future generations in nursing.

Seated L-R) Judith Pattinson; Pinky (Joan) Glass; (Standing L-R) Mariann Stratton, former director, Navy Nurse Corps; Syble Horn; Dottie Leonard; Betty Nagy; Elayne Stewart; Tom Nunns; Anne Marie Nelson; Joan Tulich; and Sandra Peppard share a photo at the Brackenridge Villa on June 26, 2012. All but Horn and Stewart are retired Navy Nurses. Donoghue’s friends congregated at the Brackenridge Villa following her memorial services.

Come out for a
Swing-In good time!
Silent Auction
Party
6:30 p.m.,
Thursday, May 2
McCombs Center Rosenberg Sky Room
Golf Tournament
Friday, May 3
Tee times at 7:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Republic Golf Club
4226 SE Military Dr., San Antonio, TX 78222
For ticket information:
Development Office
210-829-6013
development@uiwtx.edu
www.uiw.edu/swingin

The Cutting Edge
Fiesta® Fashion Show
Monday, April 22
Marriott Rivercenter Hotel
10:30 a.m. Registration,
11:30 a.m. SHOW followed by luncheon
For ticket information:
Development OfFice
210-829-6013 • development@uiwtx.edu
www.uiw.edu/cuttingedge

As a scholarship recipient herself, Guerra knows the difference financial assistance can make. She was interested in helping with Phonathon because she believes it is important to give current students a hand at success in college. Guerra says, “When alumni support us financially it shows just how grateful they are for the education and opportunities they received, as well as their pride in their university. Being able to speak with them and receive any advice they might have for me as a current student is an added bonus.”

Guerra’s role has given her greater insight into the importance of giving back. She knows that when her turn comes, she will be answering the call.

Giving is easy! Make your gift online at www.uiw.edu/give or contact the development office at 210-829-6013.

This summer UIW played host to the 2nd Annual Mozart Festival Texas (MFT) in Our Lady’s Chapel. Between July 20 and Aug. 4 six performances – three chamber music and three orchestral concerts – were presented to large and enthusiastic audiences. Featured soloists included UIW music faculty members, local artists and internationally recognized stars. For many performers, as well as audience members, the MFT concerts marked their first visit to the UIW campus.

The Festival, initially presented in the summer of 2011, is the brain-child of Terence Frazor, a member of the UIW music faculty who also serves as the event’s artistic director and conductor.

“The Mozart Festival was organized with two main purposes in mind: first and most importantly, to present to our community a large body of the classical music repertoire which historically has been underperformed in our area,” said Frazor. “Secondly, to give local professional artists the opportunity to perform the repertoire which is near-and-dear to the heart of every classically-trained musician.”

“Of course there are many wonderful musicians in the San Antonio Symphony; but we also have in our city many superbly trained non-Symphony musicians – including quite a few teachers in the public schools and universities throughout the area – who are dedicated performers,” said Frazor.

Featured soloists in the 2012 Festival included a host of UIW’s distinguished music professors, including pianists Meredith Ridgway and Zachary Ridgway, violinists Daniel Kobialka and Richard Kilmer, violist Gerald Schoelzel, and percussionist John Godoy. Festival audiences also heard two renowned violinists from the San Antonio Symphony, Stephanie Westney and Matthew Zerweck; oboist Ian Davidson (Austin Symphony); and nationally-recognized pianist Rick Rowley.

The opening concert was given on Friday, July 20 by the Artisan Quartet, a Texas based string group which is rapidly gaining fame throughout the U.S. The Festival closed on Aug. 4 with an orchestral concert featuring two soloists. Castroville native, soprano Michelle Lange sang arias from two of Mozart’s most famous operas, The Marriage of Figaro and Cosi fan tutte. Also included in the closing performance was the internationally recognized pianist Naoko Takao, who performed Mozart’s rarely heard Piano Concerto No. 25 in C, K.503. Takao received the Gold Medal in the 2000 San Antonio International Piano Competition.

The organizing committee of the Mozart Festival Texas is currently planning the 2013 Festival, to be held in June, 2013. If you would like to have your name placed on the MFT mailing list, please contact the UIW Department of Music at 210-829-3855.

Based on a classic Christmas theme, we invite you to join us for A Miracle on Broadway, featuring a combination of musical entertainment from the Brainpower schools and a dynamic duet performance by Tejano Superstar Patsy Torres and Jazz Crooner Extraordinaire Ken Slavin.

Light The Way^TM is sponsored by our friends at H-E-B. Once again we will collect new, unwrapped toys for the Elf Louise Christmas Project on the evening of the event.

If you miss the event on Nov. 17, we invite you to visit the campus and enjoy the lights through Jan. 6.

For information, call 210-829-6001 or visit uiw.edu/lighttheway

Eleanore and “Chic” Kiersted

When Eleanore Gertrude Jones started her career in nursing, she never thought she would be the U.S. Army Air Force nurse in charge of “troop trains” during World War II ferrying the wounded from one shore to another.

One night she and the engineer had harsh words as the train huffed and puffed at a lonely depot in the middle of nowhere. The two sat waiting for the ambulance to pick up a wounded soldier who was on a stretcher. The engineer had reached his limit and started to build a head-of-steam to leave the depot.

Jones was not afraid of the engineer or the train and stood boldly in front of the engine daring the engineer not to move until the ambulance arrived to pick up the wounded soldier. She took her charge to care for the sick and wounded very seriously and was not about to let a soldier in her care be left alone on the train tracks in the middle of the night.

Eleanore Kiersted’s gift to UIW ensures future generations will learn the importance of caring for others.

Jones liked to tell her caregivers that she walked across the United States both ways on every train trip as the train cars had stretchers stacked up to three-high on both sides of the aisle.

As an Army Air Force nurse, she outranked Army Chief Warrant Officer Wynkoop “Chic” James Kiersted, but married him anyway on April 21, 1948 in Camp Hood, Texas. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Incarnate Word College in 1952. Upon earning a master’s degree from the University of Southern California in Library Science, she started a second career working in the Los Angeles County school system.

After she retired, she continued volunteering in many local school libraries around Santa Clarita, Calif. She was instrumental in creating a research library of Southern California history in the local historical society. She and husband Chic also contributed funds to the library and nursing scholarship program at College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita.

The Kiersted’s did not have children of their own and also wanted to give to UIW. She shared a generous gift of $25,000 to UIW’s Mabee Library so other people’s children could have the opportunity to learn to care for others as she had. She was born April 9, 1919 and passed away Dec. 14, 2010 at the age of 91.

The half-day inaugural women’s conference was hosted by the UIW Planned Giving Council and the UIW Alumni Association.  If you would like to help plan future women’s conferences or would like to be placed on an interest list, please call Alex Castaneda at (210) 829-6071 or e-mail her at macasta1@uiwtx.edu.

Gloria Villarreal Cortez ’63 BSN and husband Bill Cortez

How did you choose Incarnate Word College (IWC) for your education?

My dad chose it for me. He wanted me to be a teacher but that is one thing I rebelled on. I wanted to be a dentist but my dad said I could not pull teeth with my skinny arms so nursing was the next closest field.

I graduated from Ursuline Academy in Laredo and the nuns were very supportive of us continuing our education. Sr. Gabriel who was the principal at Ursuline wrote a letter of recommendation for me to Incarnate Word College.

Can you tell me about your family?

I have two brothers and four sisters and we all went to college which was not the usual case in my day. My parents were not well off but somehow they paid for all of us to go to college. I do not know how they did it. I knew I had to finish my degree in four years so I worked at it.

My husband, Bill, and I met in Laredo. He was a student at St. Joseph’s in Laredo and our schools had social events which brought us together and then he attended St. Mary’s University. I think we were lucky to grow up in Laredo. The cohesive community there gave us confidence to be whoever we wanted to be and that has stayed with us over all those years.

Are there any special teachers that stand out from your time at IWC – any particular memories?

I remember Sr. Margaret Patrice and Sr. Charles Marie. Sr. Charles Marie was always wonderful, kind and bright. We were told at the beginning of the BSN program that only 25 of our original group of 100 would graduate and they were right – that is almost the exact number that received their degree.

A memory I recall was being president of the sophomore class and a member of Alpha Chi Lambda.

How did nursing shape your life and what impact do nurses have in health care today?

Nursing was a wonderful career for me. I married during Christmas break my senior year and moved to Houston for Bill to begin law school. I worked at Methodist Hospital in medical/surgical and made rounds with Drs. DeBakey and Cooley. Since I was bilingual, the doctors wanted me to do rounds with them quite often. I met the Queen of Denmark and Elizabeth Taylor who were patients there. Nurses really spent more time face-to-face with doctors and in patient care than they do now I think.

After my daughter was born, I was a school nurse in the Houston Independent School District working with many migrant families. When we moved to St. Louis, I became certified to teach because they needed teachers to lead health science classes.

You currently reside in Georgia. How did a Texas girl land in Georgia?

Bill was transferred many times during his career in the transportation industry and we ended up in Georgia.

How did you and Bill come to found CorTrans Logistics?

Bill decided to move forward and form his own company building on his many years in the industry. I was working and could support us, so I told him to go for it. We have never borrowed and it has become more than self-sustaining. We have been truly blessed. It has been a lot of hard work but we are fortunate. I am now the vice president of human resources at CorTrans.

You seem to be gearing up when many at your stage in life are thinking about retirement. Do you and Bill have any plans to retire?

No, not yet. We have good health and now our daughter, Mariscela, is working with us. We employ about 30 people and they depend on us so we will continue to move forward.

What motivates you and Bill to make gifts?

We feel very blessed and want to give back. Education is one of the best investments anyone can make in their life and we want to help. Incarnate Word is special to me and scholarships are very important in helping students complete their education. Our parents truly fostered education and we want to do the same. We also support our church, the Archdiocese of Atlanta, Wounded Warriors, St. Vincent de Paul and the YMCA.

When you think about encouraging others to give to UIW, what thoughts come to mind?

Education has helped me personally and I believe it’s a blessing to help others reach their dreams and academic goals. I cannot believe the way Incarnate Word has grown over the years – from the new schools of pharmacy and optometry and more. Dr. Louis Agnese has done a great job. It has changed a lot in many wonderful ways. I am really impressed.

UIW students, faculty and staff came together Oct. 1-5 to volunteer for the annual UIW Fall Phonathon.

For more than 20 years, students have benefited from alumni donations during Phonathon, an annual UIW event held to raise funds for student scholarships, technology upgrades and student activities. Student callers contact alumni from a call center set up in the Dr. Burton E. Grossman International Conference Center and update UIW graduates on the latest campus news and events.

During the fall 2011 Phonathon, UIW raised more than $43,000 in pledges from more than 600 alumni.

“This is an important event because the largest portion of the Annual Fund is distributed to scholarships,” said Patrick Greener, coordinator of the Phonathon. “The Phonathon helps alumni realize that scholarship money was made available to them, and now they are in a capacity to return the favor.”

Current UIW students getting involved in the Phonathon is vital to the success of the event as it represents a fusion between the present, past, and future.

“In the present UIW students are ambassadors and provide a current view of the caliber of our underclassmen while learning valuable job skills,” Greener said. “The past is represented by our alumni who attended UIW with similar dreams and aspirations and can relate to students questions regarding preparations for crossing over into the professional community. The future is represented by the funds raised that will help the next avalanche of students attending UIW next year.”

Student participation in the Phonathon also represents the UIW mission statement established 103 years ago by the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word.

If we missed you during Phonathon, it’s not too late to make your gift. Call (210) 829-6013 or give online at www.uiw.edu/give.