It seems that all too often we have the sad job of noting the passing of someone who has played an integral role in the life of Lawrence County.

Sunday, January 30, 2000

It seems that all too often we have the sad job of noting the passing of someone who has played an integral role in the life of Lawrence County.

Certainly, that was true this past week when the area laid beloved Dr. Harry Nenni to rest.

Shortly after his death, Connie Lowe, RN and director of nursing at River Valley Health System, wrote about her long association with Dr. Nenni, and we would like to share her heartfelt thoughts with you.

I first met Dr. Nenni as a small child when my mother took me to see him for some childhood illness.

I can still recall the smell of the office. It was a clean, antiseptic smell. I’m not sure what the chemicals were and I know they aren’t used much today because I rarely find it when I am in a doctor’s office. When I do, my mind immediately flashes a picture of Dr. Nenni, and I smile.

I was never scared or afraid to go to the doctor because I knew he would take care of me (with Joann’s help). Her shots never hurt.

When I was applying to nursing school, Dr. Nenni wrote my letter of recommendation. When I graduated from nursing school, I went to work at (the former) Lawrence County General Hospital. He was a presence in my life there also.

I worked with him on a daily basis, and my respect for him as a physician grew from that of a child who loved her doctor to that of a nurse who respected his skill and concern for his patients.

I still tell people when we talk of Dr. Nenni that I could always tell when he was in the building, even if I happened to be two floors away. You could hear him that far away. His voice was not raised in anger or complaint; it was just distinctive.

I left the hospital and eventually went to long-term care at Bryant Health Center. Again, there was Dr. Nenni, never changing in his care for the patients and his diagnostic skills as a physician.

He didn’t need to read the histories on his patient charts because he really knew them. He remembered ­ not just the details, but the important pieces.

Many mornings, he would pull up to the front of the building and sit in his van for a few minutes. He was listening to tapes of medical journals ­ his learning never ending.

I returned to the hospital several years ago and have again been privileged and honored to work with Dr. Nenni, this time as my patient. He was always gracious and never complaining regardless of how sick he was.

We had opportunities to spend time together just talking about all the changes we had seen over the years.

My nursing supervisor called me Sunday to tell me of his passing, and I began to think of all we had been through together for the past 40-plus years (could it have been that long?). I realized he was one of the last of the generation of "old-fashioned" doctors. They relied on their skills as physicians to diagnose and treat patients; they didn’t have the tools and technology and government intervention we rely on today.

The advances are wonderful, but most young physicians will never have the opportunity to develop those special skills.

He was a very special man. I was privileged to have known him and worked with him. I appreciate all the things he taught me, as a nurse and as a person.

I will miss him.

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We all will miss Dr. Nenni. We shall not see another like him.

Our heartfelt sympathies go out to his family.

As a lasting and living tribute to Dr. Nenni’s devotion to medicine, a memorial fund has been established at River Valley Health System, the health-care institution he served with love and devotion for so many decades.

For more information about the fund, call Arlene McClellan at 533-5001.

Jennifer Allen is publisher of The Ironton Tribune.