The life of Cheryl McGaffic characterized by spirituality

Cheryl Mallernee McGaffic was born Cheryl Denise Mallernee on Easter Sunday, April 6, 1958 in Phoenix, Arizona. She married Walter Arden McGaffic on January 8, 1983, also in Phoenix. She lived most of her life in Arizona, with brief sojourns in upstate New York and Boston, Massachusetts. She died October 28, 2002 at the University of Arizona College of Nursing in Tucson, Arizona. She is survived by her husband, Walter McGaffic of Tucson; her parents, Jack and Doris Mallernee of Sierra Vista, Arizona; her brother and sister-in-law, Steve and Candy Mallernee of Peoria, Arizona; and many relatives, friends, and colleagues.

She earned both a B.S.N. and a Ph.D. in Nursing at the University of Arizona. Her doctoral thesis was based on the spiritual aspects of death and dying; this was to become her primary career focus. She was a nursing professor at the University of Arizona at the time of her death.

Cheryl's academic and educational accomplishments were many, and she was involved with numerous professional, community, and social organizations; but those accolades were not what mattered most to her. The defining aspects of Cheryl's life were her connection to God and her relationships with people. She felt a profound interconnectedness to her family and friends, to her students and colleagues. This was the center of her personal view of life, the essence of her spirituality.

Her special interest in the spiritual aspects of the end of life touched many and encompassed the spectrum of bereavement. She had a special gift of reaching those in grief. It was part of who she was. She made career choices consistent with this gift: She embraced the most hopeless and desperate patients, as evidenced by her work in oncology, in the ICU, with AIDS patients, and as a volunteer chaplain.

Most recently, she was on the verge of change in her professional life. She loved teaching and cherished education; however, prior to her death she contemplated the pursuit of a Divinity degree or vocation as a hospital chaplain or Episcopal deacon.

The circumstances of Cheryl's death might seem a mockery of her passionate spirituality. This is not the case. Her belief in God and her love for us were not and never could be taken from her.

Still, she has so suddenly been taken from us. We miss her.

Cheryl's family would like to extend their most heartfelt thanks to all who have offered their support, prayers, and love. We apologize to those we have not thanked personally; it would be impossible to thank everyone individually, because the outpouring of love has been infinite.

Walter McGaffic
Husband of Cheryl McGaffic

Napolitano not moderate, but wolf in sheep's clothing

Opening the paper today I found, as expected, a piece endorsing Janet Napolitano as our next governor (Monday, "Napolitano best leader for Arizona"). However, as is with all articles written by Jessica Lee and Kendrick Wilson, it is filled with nothing but liberal rhetoric and half-truths.

Janet Napolitano's (or NapoliReno as I like to call her) economic plan is a disaster. How much money do you really think closing loopholes on massage parlors, telemarketers and dating services will bring to the state? Not enough. Of course, the media, who has so firmly endorsed Napolitano, hasn't told you that she has kicked around the idea of closing the loophole on other services, including the healthcare industry. Once Napolitano realizes that these loopholes are not enough, you can expect to see more money coming directly from your pockets in the form of new taxes.

Her education plan is strikingly similar to Salmon's. Where do you think she got the idea of using technology transfer to support the universities?

Napolitano's stance on forest management shows the continued ignorance of the left that caused the horrific fires this past summer. It is obvious we need to thin and manage forests to prevent such disasters, so why not, as Salmon would, allow entrepreneurs to earn a buck from it instead of spending taxpayer money?

Finally, supporters of Napolitano are using a very typical liberal ploy by calling Salmon an extremist. Tell me: What exactly is extreme about Salmon? The fact that he is honest about his religious views? Would you rather he danced around important issues, changing his stance with what is popular as Napolitano continually does? Furthermore, the only thing that will be affected by his beliefs are his morality, integrity and honesty; he isn't set out to violate our constitutional rights as Lee, Wilson and Winsky want you to believe. While we are on the subject of integrity, let's not forget that Napolitano was part of the Anita Hill legal team that made a mockery of our justice system, bringing false personal attacks against a man who would eventually become part of our nation's highest court.

Republicans and moderates of Arizona: Don't be fooled by Napolitano's "support" of gun ownership and the death penalty; she is a true wolf in sheep's clothing. When you cast your vote for governor, you can vote for honesty, integrity, morality and a stable economic future for Arizona, or you can vote for Napolitano.

Evan Bornmann
political science senior

Lopez must be unseated from Tucson school board

Kendrick Wilson's article in the Oct. 31 issue ("Time to clean up Tucson Unified school board") was excellent. What a superb handle on this very important issue. My only hope is that all voting students at the university heed his words. Rosalie Lopez must be unseated.

Thank you, Kendrick.

Barbara Macfarlane
Tucson Unified School District