Moss Family Honors Mom with a 250K Matching Grant

‘Our Hearts Are Full, Knowing that Mom is Still Taking Care of Patients Through This Gift’

Vivian Moss was a vibrant lady. She was committed to her family, her church, her community, and her profession. As a registered nurse and nursing educator, she touched the lives of many patients and students in our region.

This year, Vivian continues to improve the lives of area patients. Though she passed away in 2021, her three children, along with their families, have donated a matching grant of $250,000 to the FHN Foundation. This gift is earmarked to purchase new beds and mattresses at FHN Memorial Hospital, the very place where Vivian was dedicated to providing care and comfort at patient bedsides.

Choosing Healthcare as a Career

Born in Afolkey in 1919, Vivian Fehr decided to become a nurse after suffering from scarlet fever during her senior year at Dakota High School. Her daughter, Janet Whiton, recalls her mom’s clear remembrance of a quarantine note posted on her door. This experience was a turning point, prompting Vivian to pursue an advanced degree and a lifelong commitment to healthcare.

While earning her RN degree from the Deaconess Hospital (now FHN) School of Nursing, Vivian went to Cook County Hospital in Chicago for her affiliation (similar to today’s clinicals), where she commented “she saw diseases that she thought never existed!”

When her husband was in the Navy, she also worked in West Virginia, where she encountered extreme segregation; and California, where she focused on polio convalescence.

Dedicated to the Power of Medicine

She was an inspiration for many years as a night nurse, floor supervisor, and nursing instructor at Freeport Memorial Hospital (now FHN Memorial Hospital). Later in life, she served as a surgical nurse and assistant to local ophthalmologists Dr. Elwood Kortemeier and Dr. Raymond Alberts.

Throughout the years, she always loved her job and was proud of her profession. An ardent supporter of the Nursing Alumni Scholarship fund, Vivian wanted to provide assistance to others who were interested in joining her cherished calling.

Her family is keenly aware of Vivian’s dedication to her career. In fact, her children were immersed in the nursing culture growing up, watching their mom make caps from a special pattern, starching and ironing them, and putting them on with white bobby pins.

Daughter Janet says that she and her siblings have vivid memories of Vivian giving them shots of penicillin. “All of us remember those shots, and even though it is not an especially fond memory, it represents Mom to us all – nurturing, compassionate, and dedicated to healing.”

Janet also shares, "Perhaps it reminded her of stories from the Spanish flu pandemic, when she was born, or the seclusion required by her scarlet fever. But she did not complain and was one of the first to roll up her sleeve for the COVID-19 vaccination at Parkview, where she lived joyfully for many years. Luckily, we were able to gather there for her 100th birthday. It was quite a celebration!”

A Legacy of Giving

Indeed, Vivian Fehr Moss lived a long life of celebration – 101 years. In addition to her faith, her family, and her nursing career, Vivian loved music and made it part of her daily routine. Up to the end, she was singing favorites like “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” rooting on the Cubs, and “Count Your Blessings,” one of her favorite hymns.

“That song represents her benevolent nature well,” says Janet, “and its message influenced the family’s decision to honor Mom’s life with a gift to the FHN Foundation. She was a generous person, an active person, and a real ‘Energizer Bunny.’ She got things done, and now, in her memory, we will help get these new beds for FHN. She would be pleased, and our hearts are full, knowing that Mom is still taking care of patients through this gift.”

If you would like to contribute to the “new hospital beds year-end campaign,” visit Give Now on fhn.org and select New Hospital Beds from the drop-down. Or, you can call the FHN Foundation at 815-599-7213 to give or to obtain additional information. Your gift will be matched up to $250,000 in donations.