Honorees

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Year Honored
2001
Honoree
Juli J Huttegger
Agency
Air Evac Life Team
Agency City
West Plains
Agency State
MO
Last Call
12/22/88
Cause of Death
Medical Aviation Accident
Biography
Hearing the thunder rumble and the chopping of the helicopter's blades overhead, quickly a prayer is said, "Please make all aboard safe." The risks involved are sometimes high; you never know when the weather is going to change. When you try so hard to save a person's life, every minute counts. It could be the difference between life and death. Thank goodness for those who choose to fly the skies.<br /> <br /> A Bell Long Ranger medical helicopter fell from the sky in a blanket of fog taking the lives of three members of its Air Evac Life Team, sparing the life of the pilot. The aircraft was en route to St. Francis Medical Center from Marion, Illinois, after picking up a patient who had been seriously injured in an automobile accident. Juli Huttegger, was a respiratory therapist aboard the plane when it went down on December 22, 1988 near Cape Girardeau, Missouri.<br /> <br /> Juli Huttegger, 22, worked for St. Francis Medical Center. She had received her license in respiratory therapy at Cape Vo Tech School. Miss Huttegger had worked a year at Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, and had worked part-time at Southeast Missouri Hospital before coming to work at St. Francis.<br /> <br /> Two scholarships have been established in memory of the medical workers who were killed: the Karen Scherer Scholarship fund has been established at Anna-Jonesboro High School, and the St. Frances Huttegger-Scherer Educational Endowment for people pursuing health care careers.<br /> <br /> Juli Huttegger is survived by her mother Marilyn Huttegger, father Eugene Huttegger, sisters Pam Woodruff and Tammy Sellers, and half sister Lisa Newcomer.<br /> <br /> Honored 2001