Donna Fosbinder

I recently heard that one of my nursing professors, Donna Fosbinder, had died. She was a remarkable woman. She was raised in a small LDS town and moved out into the big world where she married a non-member, raised 3 children, eventually graduated with a PhD in nursing, and became the nurse exec for Scripps hospital in San Diego.
After retirement, Donna moved to BYU and eventually headed up the MS in Health Care Administration. I worked closely with her for a few years and she was on my thesis committee. Donna was a multi-tasker. She would knit at stop lights as she drove us to Salt Lake for classes, she would read the latest research articles while riding on her bicycle. She would bring us apples from her family farm in Kanab. She knitted a hat and sweater for Scott which I still have and all my children have worn (it's a light blue, so it even looked fine on Heidi).
She moved to St George after retiring from BYU and unfortunately her program was quickly abandoned (the only MS in Nursing they offer is a nurse practitioner degree now). I told her that I would visit her down there, but it never seemed the right time-- we were often just stopping by St George for a quick break before more hours in the car, or I didn't feel like invading a peaceful quiet home with children who have been sitting in a car for 5+ hours.
Last year I went on a trip to St George with my triathlon coach and a group of athletes. I was heading down to Las Vegas after our training to go to my cousin's wedding. I thought that it would be the perfect time to stop by and see Donna.
I called the week before and asked to speak to Donna. Her husband questioned who I was and it took several minutes for her to come to the phone. That was my first hint that things weren't quite right with her. Donna had Alzheimer's-- my professor who was always so bright, so cheerful, so knowledgeable and quick witted was now still cheerful but her mind was pretty much gone. She did inform me that her husband had finally been baptized and that she now wanted him to take her to the temple. I visited with her for a few minutes and then mentioned that I was planning to go to the temple before heading down to Las Vegas. She jumped at the chance to go and we were able to go to the temple together. That was a choice experience-- going to the temple with a past professor. A pretty rare occurrence I'd think.
Another thing Donna talked about during my grad school days was about the therapeutic effects of a garden. She had one during the last several years of being a nurse exec, and wished she had done one earlier as she said it teaches you that even though you may do everything right, you still might not get a great crop. The reverse can also be true-- you may not do much and still get a crop. Management is stressful and one may expect too much of themselves and outcomes.
Monday, after hearing about Donna on Sunday, I planted a garden. A week later, most of my flowers are dead, but the herbs seem to be going strong. Donna's obituary does mention that she was sealed to her husband.