Hospice & Palliative Care would like to introduce you to a few of the special people we had the privilege to serve in the past year. Our compassionate end-of-life care was taken into their homes from Afton to Earlville and several towns in between. These patients are young and old; some are still with us, others have passed away; some have cancer, others do not. However, the one thing they have in common is that their lives, and the lives of those who love them, were made easier when they welcomed Hospice into their family.
Our Annual “Friends of Hospice” Campaign is the one time in the year that we ask for financial help from those of you who wish to support our mission, and want to help fill the gap between insurance reimbursement and the actual cost of patient care. Without these dollars, we would not be able to provide the wide variety of services that we do. If you would like to donate to this campaign you can call our office at 334-3556 and charge your gift or send a check to Friends of Hospice, 21 Hayes Street, Norwich 13815.
Each week we will share a short story of one of the five patients who wished to share their hospice journey with the public. While they took very different paths in life, their humanity and the right to die a comfortable and dignified death intertwines their biographies. We’re certain that your hearts will be softened by each of them, as were all of ours.

To meet Mary Dack is to love Mary Dack. She may be sick, she may be old, but she sure hasn’t lost her spunk. Spunky may seem an odd adjective to describe a 90-year-old, but it suits her perfectly. Mary broke down barriers in an era when most women married young and stayed home to raise the kids. Instead, Mary went to work for Bendix Corporation for a few years, before enlisting in the Army during World War II. “I very much wanted to do something for my country,” she says, acting puzzled that anyone would question why a woman would join the military in a time of conflict. Mary audited German and Japanese documents for security information, but yearned for a European assignment working as an air traffic controller. She was drawn to aviation her entire life, a passion that eventually resulted in her becoming a pilot.
Mary’s husband, Clarence “Doc” Dack, was a pilot too. Before she met him, marriage ranked last on Mary’s list of things to do in life. “I didn’t think men were necessary … and then I met my husband,” admits Mary. The couple met at the Rockdale Inn when she was 34 and Doc was 48.
Mary says, “Doc was calm and laid back, and I was 180 degrees different. I’m sure I got the only man in the world that would tolerate me.” The unlikely match solidified into a happy marriage that lasted more than forty years. Mary lost Doc in 1993, but found solace in her friends, and in her unyielding faith.
In 1999 when Mary was diagnosed with breast cancer, chemotherapy and radiation were strongly recommended. However, Mary characteristically charted her own path. She denied all chemo, and discontinued radiation after just three treatments. “At 81 what did I need to go through all that for?” she asks. “I’d seen people sicker from the treatment than the illness, and I decided I was having none of that.”
Mary describes herself as “disgustingly healthy” until the cancer began to weaken her nine years later. She became part of our hospice family this spring, and claims it’s one of the best decisions she’s ever made.
“Hospice is my life. It’s like you’re inside my body and you know it better than I do,” she said.
Mary Dack is prepared for death, in fact, she’s looking forward to it. “I just can’t wait to meet my Jesus.”