Edna Shattuck

On Monday, November 27, 2017, Edna Anne Shattuck, beloved wife of Charles A Fulton and beloved sister to Harriet and Arlene Guberman, passed away from complications of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Washington, DC. Despite her disease and the challenges it presented, Edna was a tireless advocate for those with COPD and at the time of her death, served as a director for the COPD Foundation. In that capacity she lobbied congressional leaders to support funding for research into pulmonary disease. She was sought after as a patient advocate, appearing at national and regional conferences as well as seeking to educate and inform the public about COPD on webcasts, radio and television.

A registered nurse, Edna graduated from the Beth Israel School of Nursing in Boston, Massachusetts in 1965. Among her professional accomplishments, she became the youngest nurse anesthetists in the United States and was instrumental in the development of one of the nation’s first outpatient rehabilitation therapy programs for those with emphysema at Ralph K Davies Hospital in San Francisco.

Someone who delighted in arts and culture, Edna loved to travel. She traveled extensively in Europe, rode an elephant to take photos of tigers in Nepal, rode in a balloon over the plains of Africa, shopped in the markets of Hong Kong, saw the Pyramids in Egypt, and rafted the Grand Canyon. Hers was a life well lived, an outsized spirit in a petite frame.

Relatives and friends are invited to a celebration of her life at Joseph Gawler’s & Sons, 5130 Wisconsin Avenue, NW (at Harrison Street) on Saturday, December 16 at 11:30am. In lieu of flowers, Edna would ask that you consider a donation to the COPD Foundation, 3300 Ponce de Leon Boulevard, Miami, FL 33134, or online at https://www.copdfoundation.org/Take-Action/Featured-Memorials/Edna-Shattuck-Memorial.aspx