Life-Long Nurse
By Sophie Gordon
Madeliene Mary Maginn
January 11, 1923-April 4, 2021
Madeliene Mary Maginn in uniform. (https://www.horancares.com/obituary/Madeliene-Maginn)
Madeliene Mary Maginn was born on January 11, 1923 to Nicola “Nick” James and Victoria James in Welby, Colorado. Madeliene’s parents emigrated from Castiglione Di Carovilli, Italy in the early 1900s. Between 1880 and 1924, over four million Italians immigrated to the United States, many of them fleeing the rural poverty in Southern Italy and Sicily.[1]
Madeliene went to Assumption School in Welby and graduated in 1941. After her graduation, she enrolled in Saint Joseph’s Hospital School of Nursing in Denver and graduated as a registered nurse in 1944. Saint Joseph’s Hospital School of Nursing had 741 nurses graduate from 1902 to 1969, and many of those graduates worked in branches of the armed services.[2]
Madeliene enlisted in the Navy, serving in the Navy Nurse Corps at the Great Lakes Naval Hospital until her discharge as Ensign in the naval reserve in 1951. In 1941, there were only 1,700 nurses in the navy. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, their numbers increased greatly and by 1945, there were over 11,000 nurses in the navy.[3]
This was Madeliene’s first time away from home and her first train ride. She made close friends at the base and stayed connected with the nurses throughout her life. Her and her friends enjoyed exploring Chicago and attending Frank Sinatra concerts.
Even though many women veterans faced difficulty claiming their benefits due to discrimination, Madeliene went to the University of Colorado using the GI Bill and received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 1949.[4] This is where she met her husband, Richard, who was also a Navy veteran attending the university. Madeliene also learned how to play tennis in the Navy and played into her 80s.
Madeliene Mary Maginn in graduation regalia. (https://www.horancares.com/obituary/Madeliene-Maginn)
After her graduation, she worked at Colorado General Hospital for many years. In the 1960s she started her career as a school nurse and retired from the Denver Public Schools in 1988. The highlight of her career was when she graduated in the first class of the University of Colorado School Nurse Practitioner Program in 1971.
Madeliene loved the game of Bridge. She often said it kept her mind sharp and made her many friends over the years. In her 90s she also learned to play Mahjong, another testament to her sharp mind. Madeliene also loved books and reading and traveled internationally over the years. She was an avid fan of the Denver Broncos and the University of Colorado Buffaloes.
Madeliene passed away on April 4, 2021. She has three children, Karen, Richard, and Nancy, and two grandsons, Jacob, and Zachary. Jacob and Zachary loved her baking and went with Madeleine to Castiglione in 2006 to appreciate the roots of their great grandparents in Southern Italy.[5]
Footnotes ↓
[1] “European Emigration to the U.S. 1891 – 1900,” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, accessed June 1, 2021, https://www.pbs.org/destinationamerica/usim_wn_noflash_5.html.
[2] “St. Joseph’s Hospital School of Nursing History: Nursing.” SJC, accessed June 1, 2021, https://www.sjchs.org/healthcare-professionals/nursing/st-josephs-hospital-nursing-school-history.
[3] Margie Bedell-Burke, “Navy Nurses of World War II,” Women of World War II, 2020, https://www.womenofwwii.com/navy-nurses/.
[4] “African Americans, Women, and the GI Bill,” Khan Academy, accessed June 1, 2021, https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-history/postwarera/postwar-era/a/african-americans-women-and-the-gi-bill.
[5] “Obituary for Madeliene Mary Maginn,” CFS, April 13, 2021. https://www.horancares.com/obituary/Madeliene-Maginn.
More Stories
