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Ohio
Nancy Fitzgivens |
For her entire life, Nancy Fitzgivens dreamed of becoming a social worker. Marriage and three children delayed but did not deter her dream. At age 50, Ms. Fitzgivens obtained her degree, concluding a ten-year educational journey. In 1999, excited to be hired by Franklin County Children Services to do child protection work, she became a social worker. Ms. Fitzgivens loved her job and the children with whom she worked, carrying their pictures with her along with the photos of her own children. She provided quality service to her families, helping them stay together or reunite; welcomed the tough cases, devoting extra attention to them; and sought with determination to locate relatives to care for those children who needed to leave home. Ms. Fitzgivens struggled for reunification … and, when that was not possible, she worked for permanent custody and a new permanent family. Tragically, all ended on October 16, 2001, the day Nancy Fitzgivens died after being attacked while making a home visit. At her memorial service, hundreds overflowed the church. Ms. Fitzgivens is honored by a scholarship in her memory for a social work student at Ohio State University, by donations given to Children Services for its Holiday Wish Program, by a memory quilt signed by her colleagues and friends, and by various plaques and other tributes.