In Remembrance

Bessie Stolzenburg applied for a job at Community Memorial Hospital in 1966 with the intent and desire to be a nursing assistant. Those positions were full so she was encouraged to work in the business office. She later became the business office manager, a title she held for many years.

“Bessie called herself a mail order bride which was partially true,” reminisces Jim Long. “She met Louie through a ‘pen-pal’ connection that grew to a romance and marriage. Bessie formed a special long-term relationship with Dave and Julie Loper, calling them her adopted family. Bessie was one of our ‘jewels’. She had a history with the organization that helped us all recognize how far the organization had come with hard work and dedication.”

Once the computer age arrived, she stepped aside and was bookkeeper and a switchboard operator. Bessie loved the medical center and even as patient, she always loved the meals. She retired in 1995 due to health reasons.

The clock in the surgery waiting room was given with memorial money from Dave and Julie Loper. They wanted something that our new addition needed and that would be a visible sign of all the dedicated years of service Bessie gave to Community Memorial/WRRMC.

06/28/2010