Barbara Jenkins; Nurse

Barbara Jenkins, 60, a nurse who devoted the last seven years to caring for the terminally ill and their families, has died.

Miss Jenkins died of a stroke at her home Monday, according to her brother, Jim Jenkins.

She worked since 1985 for Santa Clara Valley Hospice in Santa Paula, which provides home care for terminally ill patients and their families.

As patient-care coordinator for the hospice, Miss Jenkins traveled to patients’ homes to give emotional support to the family and the patient, said Katharine Anderson, the hospice’s executive director.

In addition, she coordinated patients’ medications and acted as an intermediary between patients and their physicians, Anderson said.

She was beloved by both her patients and their families, Anderson said.

“The families would usually say, ‘We couldn’t have done it without her,’ ” she said. “She was a warm, caring, compassionate person. She had a sense of humor and was fun.

“It’s simply hard for me to imagine this hospice without her, and it’s hard for me to imagine my life without her,” Anderson said.

Anderson said she and Miss Jenkins had grown close and shared a passion for mystery novels.

“That was kind of her outlet, her love of reading,” she said.

Before working for the hospice, Miss Jenkins worked for 23 years as a visiting nurse in the Santa Paula and Fillmore areas, Anderson said.

Miss Jenkins was born in Boston, attended Northeastern College and received her registered nursing degree at Deaconness Hospital in Boston.

She moved to California more than 30 years ago with a few other nurses who decided to move to the West Coast for a change.

Miss Jenkins is survived by her brother Jim of Ridgefield, Conn., and two sisters, Debra Simonson of Hingham, Mass., and Pat Watson of Virginia Beach, Va.

Services will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at Presbyterian Church of Santa Paula. Jenkins will be buried in Hingham, Mass.