MARGUERITE COBB, MN, RN, started her professional nursing
career as a staff nurse with the Seattle/King County Health Department Visiting
Nurse Services in Seattle in 1949, and culminated it as Assistant Professor
Emeritus, Department of Community Health Care Systems at the University of Washington
in 1982. Between these touch stones of her professional life, Marguerite has
given generously of her time, intellect, energy, compassion and humor in the
broad field of Public Health and Community Health Nursing. She has given integrity
and purpose to every job, no matter how small or prestigious.
Not only has she been an outstanding practitioner, but Marguerite
has been an educator par excellence, having motivated many generations of community
nurses. She co-authored Community Health Nursing (Four Editions), which
is a classic, and has served as a valuable, must read textbook for countless
numbers of college nursing students, field staff, including faculty across the
county and abroad, as the text has been translated into French and Spanish.
Professor Cobb is valued by students and co-workers as an academician,
practitioner and advisor. As chairperson of the Department of Family and Community
Nursing, she influenced the development of program content for Nursing Administration,
Cross-Cultural Nursing, Transition Services, and Family Nurse Practitioner.
Today, the University of Washington School of Nursing continues to be ranked
by its peer institutions of higher learning in the top five schools in the nation.
Clearly, Marguerite left a legacy contributing to this high recognition the
School of Nursing continues to experience.
One of Professor Cobb's strongest contributions to the field
of Public Health Nursing is the extensive list of former students who are now
evolving as nursing and community leaders. She mentored and coached over 50
nursing students in their graduate work and thesis projects, along with countless
undergraduate students.
In addition to teaching in a university setting, Marguerite
has provided leadership to conferences, workshops and institutes, both locally
and nationally. Her public health knowledge and experience has enriched the
work of countless committees, councils, task forces, and advisory groups at
home in Washington State, in the Northwest region, and in the nation. She has
been a treasured colleague to the Seattle/King County VNS, Community Home Health
Care of King County, the Governor's Advisory Council for Comprehensive Health
Planning, the Washington/Alaska Regional Medical Program, the American School
Association, National League of Nursing, American Nurses Association, and the
American Public Health Association.
Her presence as a WSNA leader began in 1970 and has carried
on to the present. She has guided the Association as the WSNA Biennial Convention
Chair, Chair of the Planning Committee for Role Realignment Workshops, Platform
Committee Chair, Secretary of the Board of Directors, Member of the Executive
Committee, Member of the First Committee to Evaluate the WSNA Executive Director,
and Delegate to numerous WSNA and ANA Conventions.
Marguerite's extensive list of Professional Achievements and
Peer Recognition consists of: American School Health Association, Fellow; American
Public Health Association, Fellow; Alpha Tau Delta; Delta Kappa Gamma; Sigma
Theta Tau; Public Health Nursing Training Grant; National Institutes of Health;
Site Evaluation and Peer Review for Contract National Health Service Corps;
National Cancer Institute; Citation for Years of Service from Seattle-King County
VNS; the American Nurses Foundation; the Distinguished Service Award; the American
Public Health Association; Public Health Nursing Section; Pearl McIver Award
for Public Health Nursing; the American Nurses Association; the Marguerite Cobb
Public Health/Community Health Nurse Award, the first named award by the WSNA
(1987); Distinguished Alumna of 1988 - University of Washington School of Nursing
Alumni Association; and the King County Nurses Association 1989 - Presidential
Award.
Admired for her professional achievements, Marguerite is also
cherished for the warm, humane and generous person that she is. She has worked
prodigiously and has made a difference in the fields of public health, and nursing
