Lynn Carol Waxler

Lynn Carol Waxler departed this life unexpectedly at SwedishAmerican Hospital on Friday, March 18, 2011, and on that day, the worldnbsp;lost an earthly angel.nbsp; She spread sunshine to all who knew her and showered her love for her family and friends wherever she went.nbsp; Lynn was born on February 24, 1955, in Fargo, North Dakota, the daughter of Ronald G. and Carol J. (Platt) Waxler.nbsp; She and her family moved to Rockford in 1957, and she graduated from East High School in 1973. She received her Associates degree in nursing from Rock Valley College in 1976.nbsp; Lynn was a firm believer in the importance of higher education, completing her BSN in nursing from NIU, and her Masters degree in psychiatric nursing through UIC in Rockford.nbsp;
Lynns career at SwedishAmerican began in 1976, when she started as an RN staff nurse on the Orthopedic unit. She was passionate about providing the best possible care to her patients, and worked diligently to make sure they received the care they needed. In 1989, she transferred to the Quality Resource Department, working as a Utilization Review nurse, RN Discharge Planner, and Case Manager. In recent years, she added additional duties supporting the computer software programs for the quality and UR functions of the department. She was active in many diverse committees at Swedes, such as Decisions at the End of Life, Wellness, Total Joint Replacement, Perinatal Mamp;M, and Womens Health. She was an extraordinary organizer-she took great joy in planning events that brought people together and was exceptional at it, with every detail carefully thought out and beautifully done. She enjoyed stamping and scrapbooking and was a distributor for Stampin Up! products.nbsp; She also was deeply committed to the Woman Within Community, serving on the Midwest Board of Directors as well as staffing leadership training weekends.
Most of all, Lynn loved all in her large and diverse circle of family and friends. She was caring, compassionate, and selflessly gave of herself at every opportunity. She was a wonderful advocate for her friends and family as they navigated medical issues and helped keep her family together during good times and bad. She is survived by her mother, Carol Waxler of Rockford, sister, Terri (Dean Hendrix) Waxler of Cherry Valley, cousins Dave (Joanne) Platt, Karen (Chris) Bearman, Mike (Jaime Aragon) Menzel, Melissa (Joe) Lock;nbsp; her cousins children Grace, Isabelle, Thomas, Andrew, Pete, and Sam, who she loved with all her heart, and long time friend, Chris Grayned. Predeceased by her father, Ronald Waxler, and her dear friend Janet Johnson.
Funeral services will be held at 11:00AM Saturday March 26, 2011, at Fitzgerald Funeral Home and Crematory, Mulford Chapel, 1860 S. Mulford Rd., Rockford, IL 61108 with Rev. Ron Hoekstra, Chaplain at SwedishAmerican Hospital, officiating. Burial at Arlington Memorial Park. Visitation from 4-8PM Friday, March 25, at the funeral home and from 10AM until service time on Saturday. Memorials may be sent to the SwedishAmerican Medical Foundation, 1415 E. State St., Rockford, IL 61104, or Woman to Woman Midwest, Inc, c/o Susan Owens, 572 Highland Ct., Colgate, WI 53107-5310. To express condolences online, please visit www.fitzgeraldfh.com