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1st
appeared 16 November 1998
After 34 Years, Mary Williams Retires
On Friday, Oct 30., Mary Williams said good-bye to UCSF
after 34 years of service. An administrative nurse for 24 years in the Hematology/Oncology
faculty practice, she celebrated her retirement with over 100 of her colleagues and
friends at a dinner party thrown in her honor at the Faculty/Alumni house.
 "It's been really great working with
her -- she's been my mentor for all these years," said Sharon Coleman, who worked
under Williams for 15 years. "In addition to her devotion to patients, she just was
the glue around here. She really took care of this place."
Coleman said the faculty practice will greatly miss Williams' experience and
"knowledge about how the whole organization works and how to get things done."
Of the many friends who attended the party, at least two traveled far distances. One, whom
Williams met in nursing school, flew in from Colorado and another, whom Williams met at
UCSF, flew in from Japan, where she now lives.
"We spent the whole evening talking about how wonderful Mary is," said Curt
Ries, a clinical professor of medicine and chief of the Hematology/Oncology faculty
practice. "She was one of the most dedicated employees that UCSF has ever had."
Ries and Williams worked together for close to 25 years, developing the successful
clinical practice, which has grown into one of the largest at UCSF.
"Mary and I always believed that patient care was the number-one priority," Ries
said. "We both set those standards and stuck to them and because of that our practice
is unique at UCSF.
"My greatest debt, and the debt of our patients, is to our caring and to Mary's
insisting that anyone who works here lives up to those standards." |
