According to Judith Miller, associate dean for graduate programs and research in the College of Nursing, the lecture series was made possible by contributions made by friends at the time of James Wake's death.,”

The College of Nursing's Institute for End-Of-Life Care Education will host the inaugural James Wake Memorial Lecture Nov. 17, focusing on spirituality and end-of-life care in honor of the late husband of Provost Madeline Wake.

According to Judith Miller, associate dean for graduate programs and research in the College of Nursing, the lecture series was made possible by contributions made by friends at the time of James Wake's death.

This will mark the first lecture in a series which is expected to present a lecture every other year, according to College of Nursing Dean Lea Acord.

The lecture will include a speech by Christine Puchalski, the founder and director of the George Washington Institute for Spirituality and Health. After the lecture, there will be a panel response by pastoral care educator Janis Blean-Katchican and College of Nursing faculty member Margaret Bull.

"James Wake devoted himself to caring for persons throughout their life course," Miller said. "He formed therapeutic alliances with persons who were confronted with pain, difficulty and impending death."

According to Sarah Wilson, director of Institute for End-of-Life Care Education and College of Nursing associate professor, Puchalski is a "nationally recognized expert in spirituality and health care."

Though James, or Jim, Wake never officially worked at Marquette, he was "definitely affiliated," according to Madeline Wake, who before she became provost was dean of the College of Nursing. Jim Wake partnered with his wife for "countless events" and also provided music for the December graduation ceremonies, Madeline Wake said.

Jim Wake was a social worker with the state of Wisconsin for 30 years and a certified Catholic chaplain who ministered to patients and families in local hospitals.

Following Jim Wake's death from brain cancer in September 2004 after only seven months of illness, many of the Wakes' friends and family donated to the Institute for End-of-Life Care Education in his memory.

"The faculty and administrators of the College of Nursing suggested the funds be used to establish a memorial lecture, and because Jim provided spiritual care to dying patients and their families I asked that the first lecture be focused on spiritual aspects," Madeline Wake said.

According to Miller, the College of Nursing addresses end-of-life care because "at Marquette students are educated holistically. They are prepared to confront many developmental phases of life, including death."

Wake agreed.

"Often people deny death, yet we will all confront it through loved ones and ourselves," she said. "End-of-life care is an essential component of health care with specialized knowledge and skills required for health professionals. The purpose of the institute is to improve the care of the dying and their families."

The institute has an affiliation with the Aurora VNA Zilber Family Hospice in Wauwatosa, where many nursing students undergo training as a part of their clinical experience, Acord said.

The hope of the lecture is to "enlighten us about our own mortality, thinking about this as the ultimate life transition and how to better prepare for it," Miller said.

"Marquette students will be affected by this issue; everyone deals with death and this lecture series will give a better understanding of how people grieve during the death and how people grieve after death," Acord said.

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