By Terrilani Chong
Florence Hall was born on August 17, 1923, in Brooklyn New York, the second child and eldest daughter of George and Marjorie Hall. During her childhood, Florence knew early on that she would become a nurse.
When she was about 7, a friend of hers was injured in an accident of some sort, and when the ambulance came to take him to the hospital, she insisted she be allowed to ride along. She was not allowed to do so, but that didn’t stop her – she ran along behind it for as long as she could.
Later, when Florence and her brother Ruddy were maybe 13 and 16 respectively, Ruddy’s big toe had become badly infected and one day Florence saw it. The doctor was summoned to the house and he had to drain the toe. Florence assisted him and he was so impressed by her natural skill that he praised her and encouraged her to pursue a nursing career.
She was educated in the public school system of New York, graduating from Erasmus High School, and went on to enroll in King’s County Hospital Center School of Nursing, graduating from that establishment in 1944.
Because WWII was happening, and many of the doctors and nurses were in armed service at the time, the student nurses at King’s County got to perform services that they would otherwise have only watched. In fact, she was a member of the first human trials team for penicillin – administering the drug to patients to test its efficacy.
It was during her enrollment at King’s County that she met the love of her life, James Lee “Buzz” Busby, a member of the United States Coast Guard at the time.
The early days of marriage were tough on the young couple. Flo was required to be in residence at the dorms at King’s County, and in fact was forbidden to marry during her training. So, she would sneak out of the dorm at night, with her bed linens, and spend the evening and most of the night with her new husband, before then sneaking back in again. Her marital status was quickly revealed when she conceived her first child, Barbara, known to her family as Boni.
Flo’s pregnancy was difficult, and she was required to take a leave of absence in order to have Boni. She subsequently returned to her training, but had to put Boni in the care of her neighbors during the week. As heartbreaking as that was for her to do, her passion for the field of nursing was strong enough to compel her to do this. She and Boni had matching uniforms, with Boni’s made lovingly by Flo.
Once she completed her RN and passed her state board exams, Flo devoted herself to raising her children – Boni was followed three years later by James, known to his family as Rusty because of hisbright red hair, which he inherited from Flo’s mother, Marjorie. A long hiatus ensued before Terrilani was born eight years after Rusty’s appearance.
The family moved around often due to Buzz’s career in the Coast Guard. They spent a few years in the New York area, where Buzz was a member of the crew of a ship that captured a German submarine that was actually in the New York harbor. From New York, they relocated to New Jersey.
The real traveling began when the family was transferred to Hawaii in 1950. Buzz went out ahead of time and secured housing, while Flo and her sister Irene drove across the country with Boni and Rusty in the back seat of the car. Flo had gotten her driver’s license for the express purpose of driving to California and boarding a ship to meet Buzz in Hawaii. Imagine your first real drive being a 3,000 mile jaunt – with two small children along for the ride!
They spent five years in Hawaii, with Terrilani arriving at the end of that period. From Hawaii, they went to Miami for three years, followed by a move to San Juan, Puerto Rico for another three year stay. After San Juan, the family moved to Morehead City in North Carolina again for three years, and from there went to the New London area of Connecticut. It was there that Buzz retired from the Coast Guard after a career of building lighthouses and Long Range Navigation (LORAN) stations, and rebuilding storm stricken areas at his various duty stations.
During their time in Connecticut, Flo finally began to pursue her passion, beginning her nursing career as an IV therapist and the person who took the EKGs in the hospital – more than 20 years after graduating as a Registered Nurse from King’s County. She quickly progressed to patient care, her true calling, and identified a need for critical care at the small local hospital where she worked. She suggested to two of the doctors she worked with that having an Intensive Care Unit would be a boon to patient care at the hospital, and the board told them to go ahead and design one.
So, she did! The hospital opened its first ICU in 1966, which Florence became Head Nurse of. That unit created a sea change in the culture of Backus Hospital, and as the hospital expanded its campus and care capabilities, a second unit was designed and headed by Florence. She went on to design the third Critical Care Unit just prior to her retirement in 1988, and it was named for her. Quite an honor for an RN!
Florence ushered in a strong tradition of nursing in her family: her younger sister Alice and her children Boni and Rusty went on to be accomplished nurses, while two nieces Gwenn and Debbie and great-nephew Andrew have also entered the profession. When Andrew graduated from nursing school, he asked for a kukui nut lei that Florence had worn on her 92nd birthday. He said he wanted some of Florence’s mana (spiritual power) to help him as he started out in nursing. He was eager to let Florence know that he went into critical care nursing just as she did. It is clear to all the family that Florence was someone to emulate.
Florence’s love of nursing is also reflected in a comment she made after she chose to enter hospice. “Now I have experienced every aspect of nursing.” True to form, she spoke encouragingly to her care givers there, just as she had done in any medical setting, offering them kind words and telling them how important their career choices were.
Florence eventually relocated to Hawaii permanently and lived out her final years as a member of the Honomu community, celebrating her 95th and final birthday in August of 2018. Her friends and family surrounded her during her final months as she slowed down ever so slightly, but overall her health was in very good trim until her final couple of weeks when kidney failure overtook her. She spent her last days at Hospice of Hilo, where she was comfortable and well cared for by their staff and visited by many of her friends and family. She was never alone during this time, and passed with family at her side – eager to rejoin her “partner, that man with the most beautiful smile.”
Aloha Florence! You were a woman of fierce dedication to your family, your career, and your world.
