A stone bench, pillar stone and greenery now stand at the side of the Decker Health Sciences Building, where Nursing Professor Jacquelyn Rutherford inspired the next generation of healthcare providers.
As a gentle rain drifted down, the SUNY Broome community and Professor Rutherford’s family came together on May 13 to remember the inspiring teacher, who passed away on Oct. 8, 2017, at the age of 63.
“Jackie would be thrilled and totally honored. Her memory lives on,” said her husband, John Rutherford. “She loved her job and she was good at it, and she was loved by everyone around her.”
A 1985 alumna of SUNY Broome’s Nursing Program, Professor Rutherford joined its faculty in 2012. She received her BS in Nursing from Keuka College in 2010 and her MSN in Nursing with a concentration in Nursing Education from Herzing University in 2012.
She loved teaching and inspired her daughter Angela Delanoy-Arno to pursue the nursing field herself. Colleagues at the dedication remembered Professor Rutherford’s dedication, and how she inspired others to keep their commitments.
“We were grateful to have her for the time we did,” said Nursing Program Chair Susan Seibold-Simpson. “She touched many lives in a truly remarkable way.”
Despite the tears and the rain, the light of smiles broke through.
“Now we have to share happy memories, because that’s what mom would want,” Angela said. “Do what you’ve got to do – save lives.”
