Ann Crowe Essig

Daily American Republic - (Aug/29/2004)

Ann Crowe Essig

Ann Crowe Essig, 56, of Stafford, Va., died Wednesday, Aug. 25, 2004 at Mary Washington Hospital in Fredericksburg, Va.  She was struck by an automobile while walking.

Mrs. Essig was born Aug. 25, 1948 in Poplar Bluff.  A registered nurse and business manager of her husband, Dr. LeRoy Essig's Oncology practice in Fredericksburg, she was a member of St. Mary's Catholic Church and the founder of the Fredericksburg Salvation Army Women's Auxiliary.  She volunteered with many organizations in the Fredericksburg area, especially Montfort Academy and other activities and organizations in which her children were involved.  She was an avid gardener and an accomplished pianist.

Survivors include her husband, Dr. LeRoy J. Essig; a daughter, Maryanna and husband, Dr. Christopher Stands, of Birmingham, Ala.; three sons, Dr. LeRoy W. Essig, II and wife, Dr. Elizabeth Diakoff of Columbus, Ohio, Patrick A. Essig of Boulder, Colo., and Michael T. Essig of Stafford; her mother, Mary Crowe Carter and husband, Joe, of Cape Girardeau; two sisters, Maryjeanne Crawford and husband, James, and Betty O'Brian and husband, John, all of St. Louis; and four aunts, Margaret Cotrell, Rose McDaniel, Jan Metz and Frances Godwin, all of Poplar Bluff; and one uncle, Lynn Metz and wife, Henrietta, also of Poplar Bluff.

The family will receive friends from 5 until 8 p.m. Friday at Covenant Funeral Service with a rosary service at 8 p.m.  A funeral Mass will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Fredericksburg with Father Donald Rooney officiating.  Entombment will be in Oak Hill Cemetery.

Memorials may be made to Holy Cross Academy, 250 Stafford Lakes Parkway, Fredericksburg, VA 22401 or to the Salvation Army Women's Auxiliary, 821 Lafayette Blvd., Fredericksburg, VA 22401.

Obituary reproduced with permission of the Daily American Republic.

Nurse killed last year is honored for lifetime of caring for others

A year after her death, a local nurse is honored with a nursing award from her alma mater

By JANET MARSHALL

A local nurse who died last year after being hit by a car during a morning walk has been honored by her alma mater for her compassionate care of patients.

Ann Crowe Essig, who worked with her husband, Dr. LeRoy Essig in their Fredericksburg oncology practice, won the Humanitarian Nursing Award from the University of Missouri's nursing alumni organization.

"Throughout her life, Essig accomplished a long list of goals that were for the benefit of those living with cancer and other debilitating diseases," an article in Mizzou Nursing said.

She died last August, on her 56th birthday, after being hit by a car while walking with a friend near Mary Washington Hospital.

Her children, husband, other relatives and friends accepted the award at a ceremony in Missouri last week.  Her husband shared a copy of his acceptance speech, in which he described his wife as "a renaissance woman."

"She was a devoted, wonderful mother to our four children, the love of my life as a wife and involved in so many organizations, activities and causes that I lost count," he said.

Ann Essig founded the Fredericksburg Salvation Army Women's Auxiliary and volunteered at Montfort Academy. But she was most proud of being a nurse, LeRoy Essig said in his speech.

"Nurses are with patients constantly," he said.  "Nurses, unlike physicians or other medical personnel, physically care for, monitor, comfort and caress the ill all day long."

Essig was a breast cancer survivor and used her experience to enhance care of other cancer patients.  When the Essigs built their medical office, she helped design and decorate it in a way that would make patients comfortable, her husband said.

Donna Otto, director of alumni relations at Missouri's Sinclair School of Nursing, was a freshman at the school when Essig was an upperclassman.  The two later worked at the same hospital.

"Here was this warm, lovely person with a calmness about her," Otto said.  "She, in essence, would definitely be one of those individuals that I would consider a mentor in my early career."

Essig's family established a research mentorship program in her name at the Missouri nursing school.

Along with her wedding ring and grandmother's Bible, she was buried with her nursing pin.

To reach JANET MARSHALL: 540/374-5527 jmarshall@freelancestar.com