Eastern NC Nurse Honor Guard honors Carolyn Fletcher with living tribute in Kinston
The Eastern North Carolina Nurse Honor Guard honored retired registered nurse Carolyn Fletcher with a living tribute ceremony at her home in Kinston on Saturday, Aug. 2.
Fletcher, who graduated from Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 1960, dedicated 51 years to nursing across five states: Indiana, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Missouri, and North Carolina. Her career included roles in intensive care, emergency room, postpartum care, surgical floors, and day surgery.
In Kinston, Fletcher served as head nurse in the emergency room at Lenoir Memorial Hospital for 10 years before moving to day surgery, where she remained head nurse until her retirement in 2011 at age 72.
“Carolyn Fletcher dedicated her life to the nursing profession and in serving others,” said Melinda Peeden, LPN, a Gentiva Hospice nurse in Kinston and volunteer with the Eastern NC Nurse Honor Guard. “It was a privilege to be able to honor her for her service and dedication to nursing, and for all the lives she has touched.”
Peeden met Fletcher through her work at Gentiva Hospice. She approached Fletcher and her husband, Ronald Fletcher, with the idea for the honor guard ceremony. On Aug. 2, five members of the honor guard visited Fletcher’s home to conduct the tribute. Family members, including her husband and son Christopher Fletcher, were present.
The honor guard presented Fletcher with a white rose, a blanket, an honor guard pin, and a certificate naming her an honorary member of the Eastern NC Nurse Honor Guard.
The Eastern NC Nurse Honor Guard, sponsored by ECU Health, was founded in 2017 as the first of its kind in North Carolina. It has grown to 82 members, all active or retired nurses, who volunteer their time to honor colleagues in 29 eastern counties. Since its creation, the group has provided more than 150 services at no cost to families.
The honor guard offers two ceremonies: a living tribute for retired nurses in hospice or nearing end of life, and the Nightingale Tribute for funerals, memorials, or celebrations of life. Members wear traditional white scrubs, nursing cape, and cap, and perform the Nightingale Tribute and Pledge, read a poem and the Nurses Prayer, and conclude with a “final call to duty” and presentation of a Nightingale lamp to the family.
Peeden said she first learned of the group when attending a patient’s funeral where the honor guard was present. She joined soon after and has since participated in several tributes.
Gentiva Hospice of Kinston partners with the honor guard to recognize nurses in the same way they honor veterans. “We are neighbors helping neighbors,” Peeden said. “This is another way we can celebrate and honor our nurses for their care and dedication during their careers.”
More information is available at sites.google.com/view/encnursehonorguard/home, on Facebook at “Eastern North Carolina Nurse Honor Guard,” and on TikTok at “ENC Nurse Honor Guard.”
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