Janice Chaplin Viola

I was born and raised in Mt. Vernon, NY, in 1939, and feel very fortunate to have been so. My  parents were not well off by any means, my father being a policeman, and my mom a stay-at-home mom (as were most in those days), and I was the middle child of five children. There were four of us left, my older sister having died as a baby. Our home was a happy one, and I have fond memories of all of the holidays, birthdays, and other occasions when relatives visited. I went to Graham Elementary, Nichols Junior High, and of course AB Davis High School, and was proud to graduate with the Class of 1957. Our family life revolved around my father’s schedule around-the-clock shifts, school and church. We were members of the First Methodist Church, and went to Sunday school, choir practice, confirmation classes, youth group and Sunday services. Our family vacations were visits to relatives, and some week-long visits to my grandparents house I the country at Fort Montgomery, NY, to which my parents later retired, and now belongs to my brother. Summers were my favorite season, and still are, with swimming still being my favorite sport. I was a member of the student council (after being surprised by my nomination and election by my classmates). I feel that I got a good education in Mt. Vernon public schools, and was fortunate enough to win a State scholarship so I could pursue my goal which was to become an RN. I and four of our classmates from the Class of ’57 attended the Westchester School of Nursing, and we all graduated in the Class of ’60 (despite half of the class that started with 44 dropping out or being asked to leave). It was a wonderful three years. We all became very close to all of the others in our class, and we have kept up that association, having a reunion every five years. I was married to my first husband in 1960, during my senior year at nursing school, so left Grasslands Hospital (now Westchester Medical Center) and moved to Yonkers. We had three children, two girls, Alice and Susan, and a son, Peter. I worked at Lawrence Hospital in Pediatrics, with the Yonkers Visiting Nurses, and then was at home five years. When my daughters were three and five, I went back to work at Lawrence, but this time in the ICU/CCU. I attended the first pilot program for Critical Care Nurses, which was a course at Westchester Medical Center, given by eight cardiologists, and started my career-long enthusiasm for Critical Care Nursing. When my son was born in 1970 my husband and I moved to Hopewell Junction and built a house. I started working at Vassar Brothers Medical Center in 1972, and worked there in ICUCCU most of the time as Assistant Manager, until my retirement in December 2001. In the early 80’s I helped organiza the first nurses union at Vassar under the New York State Nurses Association, led the first strike and was the first chairperson. In 1990 I completed my B.S.N. degree at New Paltz, and graduated cum laude, working full-time, and going to college part time. My first marriage ended in divorce in 1987, and I remarried my present husband, who is an auto mechanic, in 1989. We have 5 children and13 grandchildren, the oldest of who is 12/ We are both retired now, enjoy swimming, golfing, antique auto shows (he has a ’69 Camero Z-28) the grandchildren, and all of the family outings and activities. I am still very active in the NYS Nurses Association, now a state officer for the Retired Nurses Functional unit, and President of District 12, which covers Dutchess and Putnam Counties. I do a lot of political work, lobbying, etc. for the Association, was on its first Political Action Committee, and I credit Mrs. Hiller, my history teacher, with nurturing my interest in unionism and politics. I do a lot of volunteer work now, including being a Parish Nurse from St. John’s Lutheran Church, a Red Cross volunteer RN, am social ministry chairperson at the church, where I get to dream up all kinds of great projects and recruit people to help with them. I have been blesses a full, healthy and mostly happy life.