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Obituary
BWH mourns the loss of Christine Viger, RN, 56, a nurse on the Cardiac Surgery Step-Down Unit for 23 years. She died May 3 following a courageous battle against lung cancer.
Mrs. Viger loved nursing and working with colleagues whom she considered family. In recent years, she traveled the world with her 8AB friends to destinations including Switzerland, Greece, Ireland and Australia.
“Chris exemplified living life well,” said Ellen Clemence, MSN, RN, assistant nurse manager of 8AB who frequently traveled with Mrs. Viger. “She always saw the cup half full and always put a positive spin on the most challenging of situations, even cancer.”
The grace with which Mrs. Viger took on her disease was remarkable. “She told me that cancer isn’t all bad,” Clemence said. “She said that it allows you to see what you mean to people and to value truly what they mean to you. In her unassuming way, she touched so many lives.”
Mrs. Viger always brought in small gifts, like a bottle of lotion, for colleagues who swapped shifts with her, and anytime she received a gift, she immediately mailed a thank you note. “She was constantly looking for stationary because she was always sending thank you notes,” Ana Carrascosa, RN, of Tower 8AB, recalled. “She took care of everyone.”
As a nurse, Mrs. Viger often offered to care for the sickest and neediest patients and helped them through difficult times with her cheerful attitude and sense of humor.
Her demeanor was as distinctive as her dress. “She always wore a blue dress, white knee-high stockings, tennis shoes and big glasses,” Carrascosa said. “And she never arrived for her shift without a two-liter bottle of diet Pepsi tucked under her arm and a smile on her face.”
Alison Gilmore, MSN, RN, nurse manager for Tower 8AB, said that Mrs. Viger was a tremendous nurse, colleague and friend. “We miss her terribly,” she said.
Mrs. Viger came to BWH in 1985. She previously worked as a nurse at the Lahey Clinic, Franklin Medical Center, Falmouth Hosptial and Barnstable Hospital. She graduated from Pondville State Hospital School and Greenfield Community College.
Mrs. Viger lived in Marston Mills. She is survived by her husband, Chick Viger; daughter Chrissy Bubier; and granddaughter Toni Christine Bubier; and many close family members and friends. Memorials in her name may be made to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, 44 Binney St., Boston, MA, 02115.
A memorial service will be held at BWH on Monday, May 19, at 5 p.m., in the Anesthesia Conference Room on L1.