- Date Of Death: July 20, 2019
- State: Indiana
Gloria J Smokvina age of 81. Gloria is survived by her dear friend and housemate, Carolyn Sojka (nee Fetsch) and her children, Peter, Paul, Andrew Sojka; Maria Ossanna and Michelle Burnham. Gloria “Smokey” helped raise these children and had a great influence on their lives. She is also survived by her loving sister, Mary (late, Rudy) Plesha; nephew, Terry Plesha; nieces, Renee (late, Shane Johnson) Kirin, Regina (Russ) Mulligan, Nicole (Craig) Chism and Reyne Plesha; brother in law, Chris (late, Josephine) Bonefacic; niece, Carolyn (John) Ostrowski; and many great nieces and nephews. She is preceded in death by her parents, Jack and Caroline Smokvina (nee Rozmanich).
Gloria was a graduate of Bishop Noll Institute and earned a nursing diploma from St. Margaret Hospital School of Nursing in Hammond. She also holds a BSN from DePaul University in Chicago; an MSN from Indiana University, Bloomington; and earned a Ph.D from Wayne State University in Detroit in 1977. Her career has included both hospital and educational post, serving at St. Catherine Hospital in East Chicago as a staff nurse on the surgical floor and in Intensive Care.
She also was staff nurse at El Camino Hospital in Sunnyvale, CA in ER, on the surgical floor and as an Assistant Head Nurse in Intensive Care. She also held a faculty position at South Chicago Community Hospital School of Nursing and was Assistant Professor of Nursing at the University of Evansville.
Positions held at Purdue University Calumet are as Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Professor and the first Dean of School of Nursing. Gloria’s interest in hospice stems from personal experience. In lieu o f flowers, donations to the Gloria J. Smokvina B.S.N. Scholarship at Purdue NW or Hospice of the Calumet would be appreciated.
