Honorees

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Year Honored
2013
Honoree
Karen Marie Hollis
Title
Flight Nurse
Agency
REACT
Agency City
Rockford
Agency State
IL
Last Call
12/10/12
Cause of Death
Medical Aviation Accident
Biography
Karen was a highly regarded member of the REACT Flight Team and employed by Rockford Health Systems for over 25 years where she was trauma nurse coordinator. Hollis, one of six siblings, spent much of her time growing up in Rockford, where she attended Boylan High School. After graduating from Northern Illinois University in the late 1980s, she became an intensive care nurse at Rockford Memorial Hospital, where she remained for the rest of her career. She held leadership positions as a clinical resource coordinator and a trauma nurse coordinator and had more than 10 years of experience as a flight nurse.<br /> <br /> She married Scott Hollis on October 7, 1988, and they have two children together. She spent much of her time volunteering at the children's schools, including her most recent position as President of the Board of Directors of Spectrum Progressive School. "She's been everything, from organizer of 'Doughnuts with Dad,' to president of our Booster Club, and she's been on our board for the last several years," said a school board member. Her hobbies included reading, skiing, attending her children's swimming events, and traveling with her family.<br /> <br /> On the evening December 10, the helicopter Karen was traveling in was going from Rockford to Mendota to pick up a patient. The aircraft was destroyed when it went down in a Lee County cornfield midway between the two cities at about 8:30 p.m.<br /> <br /> Honored 2013