09/11/2026
From the time Mary Ann Spina was a young girl, she knew she wanted to be a nurse. As the oldest of four siblings, she often cared for those around her. When her brother, who was 12 years younger, broke his arm, Mary Ann fashioned a sling for him until they could get to a doctor. As a young teenager, she worked in the hometown doctor's office, where he taught her to take patients' vital signs. She even surprised her father one day by walking into the examination room to take his blood pressure!
Mary Ann grew up in Donora and entered St. John's School of Nursing on Pittsburgh's North Side immediately after high school. Upon graduation, she worked in the medical-surgical units at Mon Valley Hospital and Montefiore Hospital. After a time, she realized that medical-surgical nursing was not for her; she needed more of a challenge. She transitioned to emergency room nursing, working first at the former St. John's Hospital and later at the former Ohio Valley General Hospital in Kennedy Township. Emergency nursing was the true love of her career. Toward the end of her hospital career, she moved to the radiology department, where she worked a more stable daytime schedule for several years before retiring.
Throughout her career as an ER nurse, Mary Ann had the love and support of her husband, Ken, who was a teacher. Ken worked during the day, Monday through Friday, while Mary Ann worked primarily during the evening shift. Their only child, Beth, remembers her mother being home to get her off to school. After school, a babysitter stayed with Beth until her father returned from work and cared for her while Mary Ann was at the hospital.
One of Beth's most vivid memories is of her father scooping her out of bed late in the evening so they could pick up Mary Ann from work, since Mary Ann did not drive. It is a sweet memory of two parents with different careers and different schedules raising and loving their daughter together. Beth also recalls her mother missing family gatherings, celebrations, holidays, and school events because of her dedication to the emergency room. She remembers those absences not with resentment, but with love, because she knew her mom was doing important and necessary work.
Another humorous memory is of Mary Ann administering flu shots to family members on Thanksgiving Day before the holiday meal. Her grandchildren were spared; the family did not want them to associate memories of Grandma or Thanksgiving with vaccinations!
Mary Ann was a member of the ER Nurses Association. She attended several conferences and brought Ken along for the "free food."
After living in the Pittsburgh area for most of their lives, Mary Ann and Ken moved closer to Beth and her family a few years ago. About a year ago, when Ken faced health issues and needed to be seen in the emergency room, Mary Ann's memory became clear despite her own memory difficulties. She seemed to recognize some of the staff and appeared at ease in the place that had been her second home for so many years.
Mary Ann will be remembered as a wife, mother, grandmother, sister, and nurse. Her love for her career never surpassed her love for her family, but helping others and caring for those in need were central to who she was. Nursing is both a calling and a vocation, and Mary Ann took that responsibility very seriously.
