Theodora Fernandes Washburn died Wednesday, April 16 at age 60. Theodora attended public schools in Duxbury. While in high school, Theodora’s love of people and desire to be of service to others led her to choose nursing as a career. After receiving her high school diploma in 1966, she enrolled in the Shepard Gill School of Nursing in Boston. She received a Nursing Diploma from the school in 1969.{sidebar id=1}

Theodora gained further training and experience at Beth Israel Hospital, Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts, and Boston Hospital for Women during the 1970s. She also worked briefly as a pharmaceutical company salesperson during this time. However, she soon returned to her first love, that of direct patient care and service to others.

Theodora moved to Washington, DC in 1981. She worked a number of jobs as a licensed practical nurse including stints at George Washington University Hospital, Columbia Radiotherapy Laboratory (Washington, DC), Immershein & Birnkrandt (DC), and Georgetown University Hospital. Theodora gave nearly twenty years of professional service to Georgetown University Hospital, including the last fourteen years of her life. Throughout her years of service, Theodora stood out as a nurse whose professionalism and competence were matched by her warm heart and caring spirit.

Throughout her professional career, Theodora sought to enhance her skills as a health practitioner and expand her professional career beyond the nursing field. From the 1990s on, she mastered various alternative health practices and holistic approaches to nutrition. Her mastery enabled her to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in human relations from Trinity University (Washington, DC) in 2005 and a Certificate of Completion in holistic nutritional counseling from the Integrative Nutrition Institute (New York, NY) in 2007.

Theodora was the devoted wife of William Washburn; daughter of the late Arthur V.M. and Jennie Fernandes of Duxbury and beloved sister of Joseph Correia of Huntsville, Alabama; Sylvia Anderson of Washington, DC; Rita Fernandes of Atlanta; Arlene Antone of Marshfield; Arthur and Manuel Fernandes of Duxbury.

Theodora leaves father-in-law William Washburn, Jr., sister-in-law Pearl Ruth Pointer, and brother-in-law Anthony Givens, eleven loving nieces and nephews, thirteen great nieces and nephews and a host of other family and friends.

Memorial Services will be held at 6:30 p.m. on April 25 at: The Imani Temple of Capitol Hill, 609-611 Maryland Ave., N.E., Washington, D.C. 20002, In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to: The Washington Home and Community Hospices 3720 Upton St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20016,{sidebar id=6}