A special group of nurses in Wisconsin volunteer to honor and respect their nursing colleague who has passed and to honor the profession of nursing.

Members of the Wisconsin Nurses Honor Guard attend a funeral or celebration of life and conduct a brief, meaningful service that speaks to the tradition of nursing, and is personalized to the nurse who has either passed away or is nearing the end of their life.

“We come together to honor the profession and those who have served in it,” said Rowan Hart, MSN, RN, assistant professor for Viterbo’s Direct Entry Master of Science in Nursing (DEMSN) program and a member of the Wisconsin Nurses Honor Guard.

Hart explained that most typically, honor guard members participate in a ceremonial event, often held at a funeral home, but sometimes at a nursing home or hospice facility.

For the ceremony, honor guard volunteers are dressed head to toe in traditional white nursing uniforms and shoes. The nursing uniform demonstrates tradition, respect, and honor both to the profession and to their fellow colleague’s dedication and contributions to nursing.

Three honor guard volunteers participate in one ceremony, if three are available. One volunteer is a lead who works with the family on details that make the service unique to the individual and speaks at the service. One member carries a lamp, symbolic to the light that nurses bring to their patients, and reference to Florence Nightingale and the lamp she carried as she made her rounds in the dark to check on her patients.

Ceremonies may differ depending on the wishes of the nurse or at the request of the family, but often there is a career and contribution reflection shared with the audience, a recitation of the Nightingale Pledge, and a reading of the poem He or She Was There, while a lamp is lit to honor the nurse. A Last Call Tribute is issued, requesting the nurse report for duty, and then the honor guard leaves in silence. A family member receives a white rose, symbolizing the nurse’s dedication to the profession.

Hart, along with honor guard members Kim (Brownell) Thurk, RN ’84, and Teresa (Houlihan) Hollnagel, MSN, RN ’88 recently performed an honor guard ceremony in La Crosse for Mary (Haffner) Marcou, RN, whose daughter Kathy Duerwachter ’10 is Viterbo’s director of alumni engagement and affinity giving.

Hollnagel, a professional development nurse for Gundersen Health System’s Hospice for End of Life Care, is a newer member of the Wisconsin Nurse Honor Guard, and she looks forward to continuing to honor nurses in the region.

“As a professional nurse, I believe that we owe it to our brothers and sisters in nursing to honor their service to others by remembering them through a Final Call to Duty ceremony. It is the ultimate, respectful thing to do,” Hollnagel said.

Thurk, who has taken the additional training to become a lead member of the honor guard, has volunteered for the Wisconsin Nurses Honor Guard for three years.

Retired from her career as a nurse in Gundersen Health System’s obstetrics and pediatrics, Thurk remains involved in her field as a substitute nurse for the School District of La Crosse. “It’s so touching to represent our nursing profession,” Thurk said about her volunteer role in the Wisconsin Nurses Honor Guard. “Health professionals need something – it’s very enriching and touching, and literally an honor to represent the health field,” she added.

Duerwachter shared that her mother’s tribute was a beautiful ending to a long career. “Our mother touched so many lives for over 42 years serving as an RN and as a CCU nurse at Gundersen Health System. The Final Call of Duty tribute was a beautiful honor to acknowledge my mother and send her off to rest in peace,” she said.

Thurk explained that the Wisconsin Nurses Honor Guard has been active since 2016. There are about 800 nurses for the five regions in Wisconsin, with 100 or so actively participating. Members can determine how far they want to travel to participate in a service, and select regions of the state accordingly. Active or retired nurses, LPNs, or APNs are eligible to complete the application, and can learn more on the website: https://winurseshonorguard.com/.