Poem: Verna the Magnificient

In memory of Verna Mayo
April 20, 2023
By: Rusty Gash

I worked with Verna for 24 years
before I retired from Riverside.
I was in the Trauma Office
and sometimes we worked side by side.

She was an essential part of ER,
Triage, Switchboard and Admitting, too.
She was the “go to” person to help you, and you and you.

Verna’s drive was to help out in any way she could
and if not
she would help you find someone who would.

Verna belonged to everyone, whether or not she knew it.
If you met her once and she helped you out,
she would always get you through it.

She was small in stature with blue eyes and blonde hair,
but you knew she genuinely cared.

I cannot imagine Riverside Medical Center without
our “Verna Marie.”
Envision a beautiful landscape
without it’s magnificent tree.

She left unexpectedly with no time for “good-byes”,
sometimes that is God’s plan.
He takes her without a lingering illness
that would drain her
and cause much pain and tears for her clan.

If she were here today, I think she would say,
“My body is gone, but look in the mirror and you will see,
I will always be here, because all of you
are a part of me.”