Her caring nature didn’t make her a pushover, however. “It was always about someone else who needed to be taken care of. In fact, John said, it was all she ever did. He speaks with the voice of someone who knows the joy of falling in love with a truly special person, and having that love returned.Īnd Deanna was clearly someone capable of expressing love. John speaks about his wife with reverence. The couple would end up setting up shop in Wyomissing, where they raised three children: Kelseyleigh and her two brothers, Ryan and Kyle. John and Deanna Reber (Courtesy of Kelseyleigh Hepler) John said there was no need to wait any longer, he realized what he had found. She’s going home with this loser,’ ” he said as those gathered for the ceremony laughed. “I thought, ‘She’s not going home with that loser. John looked down, only to realize Deanna’s other hand was being held by another guy. He looked into her gray-green eyes and made his move, reaching beneath the table to grab her hand. There were lots of parties that summer, John said, and at one he sat down at a table beside Deanna. He told the story about how he and Deanna first started dating, when he worked for a local playground system and Deanna worked as a summer playground leader. “Deanna’s dying wish was that everyone get vaccinated so we can protect our loved ones from COVID-19.”Īs he stood on a stage inside the Thun/Janssen Auditorium at Reading Hospital on Wednesday evening, looking out at the crowd that had gathered for his wife’s memorial service, his grin was sly yet heartfelt. Her dying wish was that everyone get the COVID vaccine. She knew the risk, Kelseyleigh said, but was unflinching in her dedication.ĭeanna was 15 days short of her 51st birthday. Her patients needed her now more than ever, her fellow medical professionals had to have her help and support.ĭeanna forged on, continuing her work in the intensive care unit where she had toiled for more than 25 years. Not even a global pandemic, one that posed a dire risk to a woman who had survived cancer a decade ago and was taking a variety of medications for other conditions that weakened her immune system, could change that. She had a passion for her patients and a passion for her fellow nurses.” “She never wanted to do that because she wanted to be right at the bedside. “One thing that always stood out to me about her was that she had plenty of opportunities to take on a higher-paying position, something in administration or management,” her daughter, Kelseyleigh Hepler, said.
She could have gotten out of the intensive care unit.Ī Reading Hospital nurse for 29 years, a career with a list of accolades her husband said would likely stretch on for miles, Deanna had endless possibilities for advancement at her fingertips.
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