When she came to Viterbo, Terri (Hess) Pedace quickly learned that Viterbo’s nursing curriculum was rigorous and challenging, but excellent training and preparation for developing clinical skills, critical thinking, teamwork, self- confidence, and leadership has served her well throughout her 42-year career in health care.

“Viterbo faculty were always personally invested in student success, and I will always be grateful for their guidance, nurturing attitude, and commitment to my success,” said Pedace, who served six years on the board of the Viterbo Alumni Association. “I’ve loved being a Viterbo nursing graduate and Mayo nurse for my entire career. Everything I’ve done as a nurse has been amazing and a proud testament to the solid foundation of my Viterbo education! I’m indebted to my family for their support of my career and to my mentors and leaders in health care for nudging me to new opportunities that have consistently served me well.”

She added that she treasures the relationships developed as part of her involvement in Viterbo’s campus ministry under the leadership of Fran Ferder, FSPA, and chaplain Fr. John Heagle, who presided over the marriage of Pedace and her husband, John, her high school sweetheart.

Pedace began her career as a registered nurse at St. Francis Hospital on seventh floor, a general medical/ telemetry unit. In 1979 she landed a nurse clinician position, moving to part-time after the first of her two daughters was born because her daughter needed specialized care.

In 1985, she began a four-year stint in St. Francis’ Home Health Care department, transitioning into the role of hospice coordinator and then becoming the director of home health and hospice, a role she held until 1998. She became president of the statewide Hospice Organization of Wisconsin and had the opportunity to present at a national hospice conference in Phoenix.

She also was involved in the medical partnership between La Crosse and Dubna, Russia,health care providers, traveling to Dubna twice to help providers there begin the community’s first hospice program. Her partner in the Dubna project was Bob Fendt ’77, the director of Gundersen’s hospice program and a former Viterbo nursing classmate.

After being diagnosed with breast cancer in 1998 and going through a year’s worth of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation, her oncologist advised a career transition. She followed that working in Mayo Clinic Health System’s clinical research department, first as a research coordinator and then as director of research operations. She retired from that position in 2016, the same year she was honored with a Viterbo Distinguished Alumni Award.

In 2012, Pedace’s passion for dragon boat paddling was ignited. As a member of Mayo’s Breast Care Steering Committee, she helped plan 2013’s debut of the Big Blue Dragon Boat Festival, a community event celebrating cancer survivorship.

“My breast cancer team has been together since that first season, when we caught the paddling bug,” she said.

Her La Crosse Mississippi Sisters team is still going strong, racing in festivals as distant as Florence, Italy, and, in spring 2023, New Zealand. In New Zealand, the team participated in the International Breast Cancer Paddlers’ Commission 2023 Dragon Boat Festival on the North Island’s spectacular Lake Karapiro, winning its second 500-meter heat, cruising past teams from Canada and Australia.

“This was our proudest ever moment in years of paddling and competing,” Pedace said.

Pedace is marking her 25th year of cancer survivorship and said she feels incredibly blessed to be thriving and planning future adventures. Pedace and her husband are looking forward to spending winters in Florida, where they enjoy biking, hiking, and paddling. She has joined a dragon boat team on Anna Maria Island so she can train year-round.

Her team has set its sights on competing in the 2026 International Dragon Boat Festival in France.

They also look forward to their summers in La Crosse to volunteer and spend time with their two daughters, Angela, a high school teacher in Faribault, Minn., and Anna, who lives in La Crosse with her son, Jack.