GCC teacher immortalized

Friends and family gathered on Friday to dedicate the Glendale Community College Nursing Resource Lab to a former nursing instructor, who died of lung cancer in January.

Sally Black, 53, dedicated her life to teaching nursing students about the profession she loved, said Cynthia Dorroh, associate dean of the nursing program at the college.

“She put her heart in this,” said Black’s husband, Patrick. “She was dedicated to helping her students.”

To honor Black’s work at the nursing department, the college named the nursing resource lab after her.

A plaque saying “Sally C. Black, GCC alumni and faculty member — What a woman,” was placed outside the lab’s door.

Sally Black met Patrick at the college while she was attending the Licensed Vocational Nurse program.

Chris Rodemich, who teaches at the college, taught Black in the vocational nursing program and later asked her to be an instructor.

“I miss her greatly,” Rodemich said.

“Her loss will be felt by all of us, every single day.”

Nursing faculty and students attended a dedication ceremony and shared their fondest memories of Black.

Instructor Michelle Ramirez, who took over Black’s office at the college, said her spirit still lives on inside the office.

Black was Ramirez’s teacher in a master’s nursing program.

“She took me under her wing,” Ramirez said.

She and Black had “instant chemistry” because they were both enthusiastic about nursing, Ramirez said.

As Black battled lung cancer, she continued to teach courses at the college.

“She was really a trooper,” Ramirez said.

Black’s students flourished as a result of her teaching, said Marilyn Getz, assistant director of the nursing program.

“She always had her students in that lab,” Getz said.

The phrase “What a woman” was selected to be on her dedication plaque “because that phrase truly belonged to her,” Getz said.

“Yes indeed, Sally Black was a very special woman,” she said. “. . . She loved her life.”

Black taught about 1,000 students during her teaching career at the college, Dorroh said.

Mark Perkins was the first student to receive the Sally Black Memorial Scholarship.

“I hope that I live up to her expectations,” he said.