April 8, 1948 – August 23, 2014
After enduring her long illness with grace and gumption, our beloved Vic died peacefully in the early morning quiet she so treasured. Vic is survived by Sharon Melberg, her vowed partner for 22 years, her cherished friend, John Summers, ofm, the children she shared with Sharon: Erik Degner (Yessi), Dan Degner (Suzanne) and Emberly Degner, and her son, Art Bailey (Esther) and her “heart mother,” Betty Melberg and the extended Melberg family. Vic rejoiced in seven grandchildren: Zachary, Richard and Jacob Bailey, Amberlyn, Kaytlin and Aubreyana Barker and Jillian Degner. Vic was preceded in death by her parents, Bill and Betty Hooks and her brother, Larry Sykes (Lee).
Vic pioneered care giving during the AIDS pandemic. Working with Bishop Francis Quinn, she was a founding member of the Northern California HIV/Drug Use Task Force in 1989. She worked with Dignity Catholic Outreach, Lambda Community Center, Wellsprings Women’s Center, Loaves and Fishes, Hope House, UCDMC, The Effort, the Sacramento AIDS Foundation and CARES and regularly presented at the annual National Catholic AIDS Ministry Conferences held at Notre Dame and later at Loyola Chicago. Vic received a “Women Helping Women Award from Soroptimist International of Sacramento in 1996 and an Angel Award from Volunteers of America in 2003. For many years, Vic worked as an HIV/AIDS Research Assistant and later as the Medical Division Counselor at UCDMC. Vic also worked in Family Reunification for the County of Sacramento. Vic was a skilled orator and author. Her writing appeared in various poetry and essay collections, and in The Way of Saint Francis.
A long-time resident of Sacramento, Vic received both her B.A. in English and her M.S. in Counseling at CSUS. She also had a degree in horticulture. Vic enjoyed rides on her motorcycle, visits to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, trips to the zoo, the library and local parks, and time spent at home and by the pool with her family, dogs and good books.
Vic received excellent medical and nursing care at Kaiser Permanente Hospital in South Sacramento and especially wanted to thank Lisa Vila, MD, Vu Ta, MD and Domingo Hallare, MD, and hospice nurse Kathy Fiske, RN and Art Lillicrop, Chaplain.
Services will be held at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Sacramento, on Wednesday, September 10 at 2:00pm.
Arrangements under the direction of Nicoletti, Culjis & Herberger Funeral Home, Sacramento, CA.
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