47 Year Employee to retire from Providence

47 Year Employee to Retire From Providence

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A loaf of bread was 19 cents, and gas was 24 cents a gallon. A guy named Elvis was “All Shook Up” at the top of the music charts, and our president was a decorated war general by the name of Eisenhower. A new car cost $2,100, and you could get a really nice house for under twenty grand. It was the year “Leave it to Beaver” premiered on CBS and West Side Story hit Broadway. And it was 47 years ago, that a young, brilliant woman marched into the kitchen of Providence Hospital, and left her imprint on our hearts.

On Thursday, April 29, 2004, Nance Pace, Director of Nutritional Services at Providence Health Center, will be honored at a retirement reception from 2:30 – 4:00 p.m. in the Providence Pavilion Auditorium. Ms. Pace is the longest tenured, full-time employee in the near 100-year history of Providence. This is a career that spans over 11,917 full working days of feeding patients, employees, physicians, and guests, and at three meals a day, Ms. Pace has likely seen over 5,362,650 food trays leave her kitchen!

When Ms. Pace first arrived for duty on April 29, 1957, Providence didn’t even own a tray-line. Sister Seraphine Ferraro, Providence Administrator from 1975-84, remembers those days well. “Not only did our kitchen not have a tray-line, we didn’t even have a cupboard. We ate in the basement. There was not enough money in the budget for napkin holders on the table, and we had no silverware—we used plastic utensils. And yet, Providence is the only place I’ve ever served where I never had a complaint about the quality of food,” Sister Seraphine says.

When Odis Nichols, Providence senior vice president and COO, arrived on the scene in 1971, one of his earliest memories of working with Ms. Pace was for the first annual Employee Christmas meal. According to his story, “The turnout was great—much more than we had anticipated, and as I was doling out the dressing, Ms. Pace comes up behind me and says, ‘Odis, we’re out of food.’ I looked up to see a long line of employees still waiting for Christmas dinner, so I asked Ms. Pace, ‘What are we going to do?’ She said, ‘You and I are going in the back and cook some food.’ So for the next hour, under Ms. Pace’s expert direction, we cooked hams, potatoes, and vegetables, and fed a bunch of hungry employees. Ms. Pace saved the day!”

There is a common thread in every story shared about Nancy Pace. Each conversation includes comments like, “Ms. Pace is such a genuinely good person.” “Ms. Pace is one of those rare people—loyal, dependable, honest, and trustworthy.” “Ms. Pace has always worked very hard.” “Ms. Pace is one great lady.”

Such character and work ethic earned Ms. Pace national recognition in 2003 from Ascension Health, Providence’s national sponsor. From among the 100,000 employees at Ascension Health facilities, the national office chose only nine individuals to honor for exceptional service in living out the mission, vision, and values of the organization.

Someone asked her once, “Ms. Pace, how is it that you can work so long, day in and day out, and still carry that smile wherever you go?” With that genuine, strong smile of hers, Ms. Pace answered, “It’s not an option.”

No wonder crewmembers from KWTX-TV come over on Fridays to eat Ms. Pace’s fish. No wonder the Post Office employees walk over on Tuesdays for her chicken-fried steak. A warm smile makes the perfect ending to a great meal.