Robert A. Nachtwey, M.D.

Robert A Nachtwey, M.D. age 92 of Springfield IL, died at 4:20 on Sept. 13th peacefully at home surrounded by his family after a long illness. Robert was born on September 16, 1912 in Lansing, IA, the son of Franz and Lucinda Williams Nachtwey. As a young man he was a passionate fisherman and trapper who spent countless hours rowing the sloughs of the Mighty Mississippi river where he trolled their depths for catfish and muscrat. He left home to attend the University of Notre Dame where he enjoyed the glory years of Knute Rockne before enrolling at the St. Louis University School of Medicine. His time there was interrupted by the Depression and his father's illness, so he returned to Lansing to work in his family's pharmacy. After two years he reentered and then graduated from medical school and went on to complete a year of internship training in pathology at the St Louis City Hospital. However, Bob's career path was again interrupted, this time with the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor. The next day he enlisted in the US Army where he served during WWII in the 315th Medical Battalion of the 90th infantry division. His unit landed in Normandy on D-Day and he served as a medical and triage officer in France and Germany. For his service as a Major in the military he received both the Silver Star and the Soldiers Medal. After returning from the military he married his hometown sweetheart Mary Kerndt at Sacred Heart Church at Notre Dame in Indiana. In light of his war experience Bob's medical interests and direction shifted to direct patient care. Dr. Nachtwey resumed his medical training by doing a four year Fellowship in Internal Medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota where he and Mary had the first three of their ten children. Mary and Bob moved to Springfield and he joined the Fleischi Medical Group in 1950 where he practiced for nearly 50 years and served as President of the medical staff at St. Johns Hospital in 1973. The first 30 years his practice was devoted to internal medicine. In 1980 while on vacation in London, England he was inspired by what was then an emerging and different way to treat terminally ill patients, Hospice. This, he felt, was a truly special type of caring. As a result of this experience at St. Christophers in London he became one of the founders and the first medical director of the Hospice at St. John's Hospital. He championed this novel concept in the Springfield medical community and became one of 'the giants' of the discipline of pallliative care. In additon to his medical interests he involved himself with numerous community programs including the Mary Bryant home, the SARA ( Springfield AIDS Resource Association) Center, Triangle Center and the Calvary Cemetary board. Dr. Nachtwey received numerous awards including the Copley First Citizen Award in 1990, the Sangamon County Medical Society Alliance Humanitarian Award in 2002 and the Central Illinois Notre Dame Club Man of the Year. Dr. Nachtwey was an avid gardener presenting a beautiful residential flower garden each season to the Washington Park area. Moreover, he also enjoyed great literature and poetry and taught several courses in the Great Books program for parochial school students. In his later years he was an active member of Bible studies at Christ the King Church. One of his great loves was the tradition of football - especially Notre Dame and Griffin High (SHG). The most important thing in his life was his family. His life partner and soul mate, Mary, was his wife for nearly sixty years. Though he and Mary have ten children they have been actively involved with and have devoted themselves to each and every one of them. Bob has made significant efforts to remain in contact with the entire family, which has been geographically dispered throughout the world. Indeed, before the advent of fax and email he created a bi-monthly newsletter 'The Fortnightly Report' to stay in touch with his entire family. Moreover, his human concern for patients influenced eight of his children to pursue active careers in the health care professions. The family is: Mary K. Nachtwey of Springfield;six daughters: Mary Louise Nachtwey of Springfield, Elizabeth Nachtwey (husband Stephen Collens) of Nelson, British Columbia, Susan (husband, Gerald) Tinguely of Farmington, Maine, Nancy Nachtwey(partner, Ernie Montoya) of Oakland, CA, Kathryn Nachtwey of Ukiah, CA, Julie Nachtwey (husband, David Innes) of Seattle, WA.; four sons: Jim (wife, Karen) Nachtwey of Springfield, Frederick (wife, Julie) Nachtwey of Berkeley, CA, Gregory Nachtwey( wife, Esther Hirsh) of Berkeley, CA, and Matthew Nachtwey of Springfield. Robert is also survived by 14 grandchildren. The family will receive friends from 4:00-8:00 on Thursday, Sept. 15th, at Christ the King Church, 1930 Barberry Dr. Springfield. Visitation will begin with a prayer service at 4:00 p.m. Funeral Mass will be held at 10:00 a.m. Friday, September 16, 2005 at Christ the King Catholic Church with Rev. Msgr. David S. Lantz, celebrant. Burial will follow in Calvary Cemetery where the Interveterans Burial Detail of Sangamon County will conduct military honors. Memorial contributions may be made to the Scholarship Fund at Sacred Heart - Griffin High School, 1200 West Washington, Springfield, Il 62702 or St. John's Hospice, 800 E. Carpenter, Springfield 62702. Eulogy for Robert “Bob” Nachtwey This is the time that I had hoped would never come. Indeed, it’s the very moment that for the last several years has filled me, and I’m sure many other members of our family, with both fear and dread. But here we are together, facing life (and of course death) as a family, with the support of many of our closest friends, relatives, neighbors and other members of this community. As I look out through my grief into this gathering, and as all of us join together to morn the loss of one of our most special members, nothing could be more comforting to me than to see all of us, together at this moment, congregating to celebrate the life and death of Bob Nachtwey. I stand before you now at the request of my brothers and sisters, who have asked that I say a few words to commemorate our father’s life. But in truth I’m struggling, because it’s hard to know how to even begin to express my feelings. Of course this is a time of enormous sadness for what continues to be a painful loss. This loss exposes a tangle of raw emotions that end in a great emptiness and an eerie longing. Longing for what? I don’t really know. But I believe that this longing is my desire for something akin to a “happy ending”. It reflects that part of me that, only now, is coming to terms with the pain of acknowledging Father’s passing, as well as the difficulty that I am having truly accepting, at last, this finality. At the same time, however, I have also experienced many wonderful and tender emotions that continue to fill me with a renewed awe, admiration, respect, and of course an unbreakable love, for one of the most unique and important individuals whom I’ve ever had the privilege of knowing. Because you see, Dad has always been a truly exceptional person. A litany of Bob’s exceptional qualities is both lengthy and well deserved. Although he has been blessed with a variety of extraordinary capabilities, I believe that one of his most endearing and admirable qualities is that he set out to earn everything that he achieved. And his achievements have been many. He was certainly a well-respected doctor. Indeed, while I was growing up it was commonplace to meet perfect strangers, who upon learning my last name, felt compelled to praise Dad and then proceeded to tell me how he had helped them and/or their families during some special crisis in their lives. Therefore it seems natural to me, when remembering my father with all of you, to recollect the burning desire that he possessed (during much of the last sixty years) to attend to the health needs of so many people. Clearly, one of the lasting images of him amongst many of us is simply as “Dr. Nachtwey” or just “Dr. Bob”. But why was he such an effective and well-liked doctor? In truth, with no pretext to judge his technical capabilities, I believe that much of the secret to his success flows principally from the type of person that he has always been: unfailingly kind, loyal, considerate, generous, empathic, fun loving and caring. These qualities, in conjunction with a sharp intellect, a calm and non-pretentious manner, and a relentless work ethic, served him well throughout his entire adult life. Moreover the benefits of Bob’s good reputation have, on numerous occasions, accrued to my siblings and me as well. Thus irrespective of what my brothers, sisters and I achieve in our own lives, we are all deeply indebted to both of our parents who have sacrificed so much in an effort to contribute to the well being of each of us. And those substantial contributions are incalculable. However, there has always been so much more to my father than just his professional achievements. In truth, it’s difficult to articulate even a fraction of the wonderful qualities that made him the best Dad that I could ever have hoped for. He could be generous to a fault, as when he recently ceded one of the ten family burial plots that he had purchased for his children, to one of his dying and indigent hospice patients because she lacked the means to secure her own burial and had expressed to him her fears of being cremated. And also courageous: indeed, Jim and Fred remember being harassed by several neighborhood kids while walking home from The Blessed Sacrament in the late 1950’s, after Father had taken a public and lonely stand for people of color in a Town Hall meeting and where he had whole-heartedly supported welcoming them to join our neighborhood. Here are a few of Bob’s most laudable traits that he maintained throughout his life: ·A remarkable ability to laugh at himself; ·A calm confidence and reassuring manner; ·A bottomless compassion for people – irrespective of their status or their station in life; ·Optimism, simplicity and humility; ·Positive can-do attitude; ·Puckish sense of humor; ·Equanimity as well as a gentlemanly generosity and dignity; ·An inquisitive and alert mind; ·Strong moral convictions of right and wrong; ·Unending faith in the power of God; and ·A deep and unshakable belief in the inherent goodness of people. However, no matter how long are these lists of traits and accomplishments they are certain to fall short and be devoid of meaning for many of us, without the key ingredient for being a good parent. Because in the end, my love and appreciation for my father will always comes down to his ability to make me (and I believe the rest of my family) feel intensely loved and deeply appreciated at the most primal level – and just for whom we are. Thus, many of my favorite memories of childhood revel in the sheer joy of feeling this unequivocal love. Although it was rarely expressed with words, it was manifested on innumerable occasions simply by spending time and being with Dad on a day-to-day basis, and while doing only the most ordinary of things. For example: 1)Remembering occasions during my early years of grade school when I slipped out of bed (after others were asleep) and slinked down our front stairs, in order to go to sleep at the foot of Dad’s red chair in the Map Room of our old house, while he read Time Magazine late into the night; 2)Or all of those family home movies circa 1965 that start with a ninety (90) second close up of Father’s eye, as he struggles to check the equipment of his new camera; 3)Or the equanimity he exhibited, despite my sister Susan’s astonishment, when he turned a sharp corner in the car and Elizabeth flew out the door and full across the hot sticky gravel road; 4)His gentle demeanor when he awakened his errant paperboys, Matthew and me, who had slept long past sunrise. Not only was he uncritical, but he was also remarkably buoyant as he whistled one of his homemade tunes, despite the fact that he and Mom had already received telephone calls from angry customers (whose patience had long been exhausted); 5)Or his favorite morning ditty that started something like “James and Fred and May Louise….” and then wended its way down through all of us until “Julie Patrice”; 6)And what a wonderful sight to behold, Father’s face beaming with pride when he spoke of Mary Louise’s recent commendations, recognizing her achievements with her employer; 7)Or the ritualistic walk that the “Bean Baron” would make through his beloved garden on summer evenings, complementing each and every one of his little workers - Nancy, Kate and Julie - for their haphazard and hurried weeding efforts which, in truth, had commenced just moments before he had arrived home; 8)And how Dad has always so thoroughly enjoyed the near continuous comings and goings and swarms of kids (young and old alike) for nearly sixty years; 9)Or our entire family, greedily wolfing down fresh pineapple sundaes after finishing an elaborate meal during what had been up to that time the most exotic vacation of our lives - Acapulco, Mexico; 10)Or the thrill of speeding down two lane highways through thick August heat, with windows wide open, as both of our family cars transported the whole brood of twelve in convoy to our family’s annual two week pilgrimage at our cousins’ farm in Lansing, Iowa; 11)And what magical summer vacation time it was, with our cousins the Kerndts! How everyone so enjoyed returning to my Father’s and Mother’s roots along the Great Mississippi and the surge of joy that my Father felt as he wandered about his old hunting and fishing grounds, before enjoying the down home hospitality offered by my Aunt Pat and Uncle Tom. I can still see them as clear as if it was yesterday, gossiping and watching kids run wild over the countryside as the Nachtwey kids paired up with each and every one of our ten country cousins; 12)And of course, my Uncle Jim, Father’s most trusted spiritual advisor who has been a lifelong friend for nearly ninety years. How Dad has so relished the time he’s been able to spend recharging himself at the monastery away from all of his earthly duties; 13)And the ongoing pride that Dad has felt, not only for his own flesh and blood, but also for our exceptional spouses with whom, in the end, we share so many important values. 14)And finally last, but certainly but not least, no memories can be complete without the presence of my Mother, who has spent the last sixty years with Dad and who has unendingly and unfailing been there for him, tirelessly taking care of virtually everything that needed attention around our home. No words can express my gratitude to you, Mother, for everything you’ve done for us. No string of phrases can do justice for your irreplaceable role for helping Dad throughout his entire life, and especially during these last several years. How lucky he’s been to have you and to love you so dearly. This special love shall surely live on through all of us. So this is a time to celebrate! How blessed this family has been to have had both of our parents for this long! How remarkable they both have been in their long, active and eventful lives. How loving and loyal Mom and Dad have both been to each other, to their children and to their friends. And how lucky we are, to have had such a wonderful and supportive group of friends here in Springfield - many of you whom are here today – how much so many of you have meant to my father! Indeed at Father’s express request he wants only a “White Funeral”, and he desires nothing more than for all of us to relish and cherish each other’s company and the bounties of our lasting friendships. As he aptly said “No lengthy dirge, keep the black clothing and speeches to a tasteful minimum and recognize my Irish heritage.” Because in the end, how unknowable it is as to where Dad’s long productive life shall take him next. But make no mistake, as we send him off for this unknown journey into the darkness, his legacy shall continue and be unbroken through each and every one of his and Mother’s children and grandchildren. And as I look out at all of you, nothing can possibly make me happier than to see these grandchildren, each so wonderful and unique in their own right, and the wonderful promise of their entire generation who are fast inheriting this world from all of us adults. So remember, grandchildren, there’s nothing, absolutely nothing that will warm the soul of Bob more, than to know that this new generation shall never stop striving to exceed those who have come before it – so long as you do so with both honor and respect for all of those who have helped pave your way. Surely, this legacy is his and Mother’s finest garden. So, good night Father. Good stead. Full bore ahead. We love you! Greg Nachtwey September 2005