Emily Zuch McCormick

Emily Zuch McCormick, age 82, of Austin, Texas joined her Lord along with her beloved parents, husband and brother on Friday, March 2nd. She died from complications arising from a recent bout with pneumonia. She was preceded in death by her parents and a brother and a niece.

She is survived by her children: Janet (McCormick) and Randy Harper of Fort Smith, Arkansas and Tim and Dr. Annette (Saenz) McCormick of Austin, Texas; 7 grandchildren: Samanthe (Harper) Burrow, Devin Harper, Chelsea McCormick, Morgan McCormick, Grant Harper, Hailey McCormick and Logan McCormick; and 1 great grandchild, Samuel Burrow. She is also survived by her sister and brother-in-law Martha and Harry Bengtson, sister-in-law Joanne Zuch, 2 nieces, 2 nephews and many beloved cousins.

Born and raised in Austin, Emily attended UT-Austin and received her BSN and MSN degrees from UTMB-Galveston. She was passionate about the significant role of the RN in the health care system and she shared her enthusiasm with everyone she encountered, beginning at Wadley Blood Bank in Dallas and continuing through her time as Assistant Professor of Nursing Education at UTPA in Edinburg. She was one of the first to receive the Distinguished Faculty Achievement Award at Pan American University, currently known as UT-Pan American. Emily was particularly proud to be one of the women known as the Mighty Ten, a group of pioneers who were the first class to enter John Sealy College of Nursing and successfully complete the Bachelor of Nursing degree program together. She was an ardent advocate for children. Her influence was responsible for the establishment of playrooms for hospitalized children in several of the hospitals in the Rio Grande Valley area. Shortly after the untimely death of her beloved husband, Emily began her long and arduous battle with auto-immune diseases. She found that her life was an odyssey through medical diagnoses and procedures, an odyssey with God as her compass. Emily rejoiced in her sufferings; this produced perseverance, which built character, and that gave her hope. She rejoiced in the hope of the glory of God and lived everyday in the knowledge that she would rejoin her husband and family and friends in her eternal home.

Visitation will be Tuesday, March 6th at 12:00 noon at Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Home on North Lamar in Austin, followed by a celebration of life, led by the Rev. John Selle from Faith Lutheran in Georgetown, at 1:00 p.m.

There will be a graveside service at Restland Cemetery on Greenville Avenue in Dallas on Wednesday, March 7th at 11:00 a.m.

Honorary pallbearers will be Randy Harper, Devin Harper, Grant Harper, Logan McCormick, Harry Bengtson, Kyle Bengtson, Christopher Bengtson, Frank Covington, Clay Covington, Blake Covington, Ward Zuch, Brett Miller, Hunter Miller, Kline Miller, Trent Miller and Kirk Zuch.