A Time to Remember

These colleagues’ legacies live on

Whether they worked here one year or 40, the colleagues who passed away in 2006 have forever left a mark on those who knew them. Here are the men and women who were honored at the annual Remembrance and Renewal Services last month.

A Passion for Technology
When Richard Lerch started here in 1965, computers were giant fickle beasts. “There was just one central computer, no monitors, and data was read with paper tape. No one knew how they worked except for a few people like Richard,” says his colleague, Meg Schaffer. “He always was trying to help people make automation work for them.”

For the next 30 years, as computers evolved, Lerch’s knowledge of them kept growing and expanding as well. Throughout his life, he researched and advocated for the latest technology at the hospital.

Like Part of the Family
Rachel Sninski, R.N., was the quiet type, but her preceptor, Michelle Trzesniowski, R.N., saw great potential. “She was a quick learner and was on track to becoming a great nurse,” Trzesniowski says.

When Sninski died last year at age 23, it left her colleagues in shock. “It really opened our eyes to how precious and valuable we all are to each other,” Trzesniowski says. To honor Sninski, she and her colleagues started a scholarship and a Friends of Nursing award in her name.

“The Best Friend Anybody Could Ever Have”
When inpatient hospice supervisor Kelly Minnich, R.N., thinks of her friend and home health aide colleague Hilda Padro, she thinks of her compassion first. “Hilda was the kind of person who would give you anything she had—no questions asked,” she says.

Even while Padro was dealing with her illness, she wanted to be there for her patients. “If she felt OK, she would come to work,” Minnich says. “She felt better when helping others.”

A Love of Teaching
After Sandra Bobryk’s colleague and longtime friend Marion Rumley passed away, she wanted her legacy to continue. Rumley’s passion was teaching. So her radiology department colleagues created a fund in her name that would assist a Northampton Community College radiology students with educational expenses.

“We have raised more than $6,000 in Marion’s name so far,” Bobryk says. “She was such an integral part of our lives. Her spirit will remain in our hearts forever.”

A Woman With Courage
Respiratory therapist Michelle Serfass wanted to see her twin granddaughters. So she bought a pickup truck, loaded up her dog and set across country to visit them in Utah. “That takes courage,” says her colleague Charlotte Kranyecz, who remembers Serfass’ strength throughout her illness.

“Michelle had a tremendous spirit,” Kranyecz says. “She was always up for a good laugh.” Serfass was a Philadelphia Eagles fan and idolized Terrell Owens. “He was on her screensaver.”

Luck Be a Lady
When Pauline Shull (second from right) started at The Allentown Hospital as an operator, it was only so she could save enough money to buy a refrigerator. She ended up staying with LVHHN for 37 years until her passing at age 81. Every night when Shull would leave work she would say to her colleagues (l to r) Colleen Granitz, Hope Roth, Gail Keinert and Lynn Knauss, “Well, I guess I’ll go home to my happy abode.”

Roth remembers her bringing in freshly picked apples and peaches. “She would never take money,” says Roth, who also recalls Shull’s love of gambling in Las Vegas. “She was quite lucky.”

First on the Scene
If there was a problem at LVH–17th and Chew, colleagues could rest assured that security officer Ronald Reinhard would be there in a heartbeat. His presence alone would make Barbara Davis, R.N., and colleagues feel safe.

Reinhard started his career here in 1989 after retiring from the Allentown Police Department. Through the years, colleagues depended on Reinhard to handle security threats with ease and care. “He was respectful, kind and fair,” says Davis. “He was our big teddy bear and our guardian angel.”

A Calming Influence
Carole Buck (third from left) loved her job as a surgery coordinator at College Heights OB/GYN and took special care of women who had miscarriages. “She comforted them,” says Diane Piscitelli, retired office coordinator.

She was there for Piscitelli, too. During Thanksgiving 1995, Piscitelli’s son, Mark, was in the hospital battling leukemia. “He told me to go home and make dinner. I did and next thing, in walks Mark,” she says. After he died, Buck called her friend every Thanksgiving to relive that memory. “I missed hearing from her this year,” Piscitelli says.

Buck was also part of “The Golden Girls”—a group of office colleagues (l to r) Audrey Medlar, Susan Roach and Piscitelli—who met for breakfast before work six times a year to share news about their friends and families.

“Live Life!”
Eloise Albright’s e-mail reply—“Live life as a exclamation!”—said it all. A credentialed coding specialist in medical records, she had a way of making her colleagues feel special. “She loved flowers and would bring me bouquets on special occasions,” says Carolyn Murphy. “She was always the first person to recognize someone’s accomplishments and birthday.”

Albright’s loves included golfing and her two cats, Homey and Lacy. “Eloise felt everyone should really live life,” Murphy says. “And she did just that.”

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