Lyn Jerde/Daily Register
More than 750 bulbs shine in the night at Thursday's 18th annual Love Light tree-lighting celebration at the Divine Savior Healthcare Extended Care Facilty. The Knights of Columbus raised the structure, and people contributed money for bulbs to honor living loved ones, remember loved ones who have died and pay tribute to men and women in military service.

It would have been totally understandable if Ken and Eunice Shannon entertained a wistful memory of the holidays they spent away from home while serving on an Army hospital ship off the coast of the Philippines during World War II.

But for the couple - who stood at attention beside Christmas trees lighted in red, white and blue at the annual Love Light tree-lighting celebration Thursday at Divine Savior Healthcare Extended Care Facility - a happier wartime recollection came to mind.

The ship was where the two first met.

"You know, she outranked me," Ken Shannon said. "She was a lieutenant, and I was just a corporal."

"But he chased me and chased me until he got me," Eunice Shannon added, with a twinkle in her eye.

The Pardeeville couple, along with Pardeeville Navy veteran Ray Bankers, served as honor guards for the three trees that were lit in patriotic colors, in honor of men and women who are missing Christmas at home this year because they're serving in the military.

The trees stood in the shadow of a much larger tree-shaped structure that held more than 700 lights - each of them purchased in honor of loved ones still alive, in memory of loved ones who have died or in appreciation of military service members.

Divine Savior Volunteer Coordinator Shelby Lang said Love Light is one of the major fund-raisers for the hospital and its companion extended care facility, put on by a group of volunteers who call themselves Partners.

Maureen Bindl, president of the Partners of Divine Savior Healthcare, said every dollar that bought a light on the tree "goes back to the hospital that we all use."

Sister Beverly Heitke, sponsorship coordinator for Divine Savior Healthcare, said memories provide a theme not only for the tree-lighting ceremony, but also for passers-by who, during the Advent and Christmas season, may see the illuminated tree and pause to offer a prayer of thanks for the special people they remember.

"This night is a night to celebrate memories," she said. "Memories are the bridge with heaven, and with people who can't be sitting in the pew or chair next to us."

The ceremony began in the extended care facility's chapel, where a quartet called Late for Dinner tested the audience's memories - by calling on them to recall some Latin they may have learned years ago, and sing "Gloria in excelsis deo."

And Lang called on attendees to remember the sacrifices of service members of all eras, including those now serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"We're a nation conceived in freedom," she said, "and God willing, in freedom we'll live for the rest of our days."

Cragin still lending a hand

When 50-year Divine Savior Healthcare employee Dorothy Cragin was called on to officially illuminate the Love Light tree, she quipped, "So, do I get a match?"

Cragin's honorary task actually entailed flipping a switch, which set aglow 700 lights on a tree-like structure the Knights of Columbus built. But in many ways, the annual Love Light ceremony was all in a day's work for Cragin.

As Cragin headed for a party after the ceremony, she noticed that no one had wheeled resident Lorraine Scherbarth from the chapel to the post-lighting festivities. So, before getting in line for soup and snacks, Cragin made sure that Scherbarth was seated, and that she got something to eat and drink.

Cragin celebrated her golden anniversary of employment as a Divine Savior nurse in November. She started work at the hospital in 1958, in the wards dedicated to long-term older residents. When the Divine Savior Healthcare Extended Care Facility opened in 1966, she was transferred there. Cragin - who works part time, but has no plans to retire - said she knew, from the beginning, that her lifetime career would entail serving older people.

"I knew this job was forever," she said, "because I like people. And I love the elderly. The elderly need you. They need medicine, yes, but they also need companionship."

Since the theme of the Love Light ceremony focused on memories of special people, Cragin was an apt choice for the honor of lighting the tree, said Divine Savior Healthcare Extended Care Facility Administrator Jennifer Bieno.

Cragin, she said, remains a model of caring, not just for the residents, but also for her colleagues and for residents' families.

"She knows every resident," Bieno said. "She's a leader in terms of showing other people how to care."

ljerde@capitalnewspapers.com

745-3587