Mary Ellen "Gerry" Geraldine Dobson

Mary Ellen Geraldine Dobson was born September 14, 1924 in Warren County Township in Iowa to Bernard and Leona Endres.

She attended rural Catholic schools and graduated from Milo High School in 1943 and from Mercy Hospital in Des Moines, Iowa where she received her diploma as a registered nurse in 1946.

She married Raymond Dobson after he returned from the Navy in World War II. They moved to Amarillo, Texas working in separate hospitals while Ray continued his college education.

They eventually conceived five children, Gary, Larry, Merrill, Deborah and Cheryl. Gerry continued working in the Amarillo Hospital system during 1952-1954 as the Director of Nursing Services before moving to Colorado Springs in 1961.

Gerry found employment at St. Francis hospital in Colorado Springs working in various departments then became the Emergency Department's supervisor for 12 years. One of the highlights during those 12 years was helping to design a new Emergency Department with a 15 bed unit suitable for trauma patients. Being appointed by the Governor of Colorado to serve on the Colorado Counsel of Emergency Medical Service, she did so for 12 years.

An opportunity to further her education due to the College of St. Francis in Joliet, IL offering off campus classes in Colorado Springs for nurses to further their education she was able to receive her B.S. in Health Arts in 1984 and proceeded to earn her Masters in Health Care Administration with Academic Honors.

In 1979 the opportunity opened up to set up the first Risk Management Program at St. Francis Hospital. With the merger of St. Francis/Penrose Hospital she assumed the Risk Management position for three years before retiring. Gerry truly enjoyed all facets of patient care during her 30 years in the hospital system.

After retiring, she spent 12 years as a Eucharistic Minister; taking communion to nursing homes. Retirement also found her ready to travel and see much of the United States and Canada with her husband, Ray, and her sister and her husband. After Ray's death in 2015 she continued to enjoy family get-togethers, all of her nine grandchildren and her 13 great grandchildren, working out at the gym and playing Bridge!

A burial services will be held at Memorial Gardens Cemetery and Funeral Home on Thursday May 14th, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. Mrs. Dobson’s Memorial Mass will be held at Divine Redeemer Catholic Church at a later date.