Penelope Risher (1950-2020)
Longtime nurse also took horses to shows.
By Mike Sigov / The Blade
Fri, 22 May 2020 04:00:00 GMT
Penelope “Penny” Gail Risher, a longtime registered nurse at Flower Hospital who was active in nursing organizations, died Monday at the Bridge Hospice Care Center in Findlay. She was 69.
She died of ovarian cancer, her niece, Gina Ricker, said.
Ms. Risher, whose maiden name was Shuck, retired in 2016 after 44 years at what now is ProMedica Flower Hospital, where she had been at different times a staff nurse and a nursing supervisor, mainly in post-surgery care.
She had volunteered for American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses and Ohio PeriAnesthesia Nurses Association, of which she was a member. She was also a member of Flower Hospital Alumni Association.
“She was definitely proud of being a nurse, and she enjoyed it,” her niece said.
“She was also very dependable and loyal. ... She was always there for others. And she was very social and fun to be around,” she said.
In retirement, Ms. Risher sometimes worked part-time, most recently this past summer at Sauder Village in Archbold, Ohio.
Ms. Risher was born July 28, 1950, in Findlay to Mary and Homer Shuck.
She grew up on a family farm in Wood County’s Jackson Township.
In 1968 she graduated from McComb High School in McComb, Ohio.
After high school, she was trained as a registered nurse at Flower Hospital.
In 1972, Ms. Risher received her license and hired on at the hospital as a registered nurse.
She later continued her education, obtaining a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Toledo in 1981.
In the early 1970s, she married Stephen Risher. They later divorced.
In her free time, Ms. Risher enjoyed taking care of several horses she had owned over the years and attending horse shows. She also liked line dancing.
She was a member of Hoytville United Methodist Church in Hoytville, Ohio.
Surviving is her sister, Diane Williamson, and many nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews.
Graveside services will begin at 11 a.m. Friday at Woodlawn Cemetery, Deshler, Ohio.
Arrangements are by Feehan-Rodenberger Funeral Home.
The family suggests tributes to Hoytville United Methodist Church.
Risher