Emily Manns Kosinski, 93, of Round Pond and formerly of Barters Island, Boothbay, and Joliet, Ill., died peacefully Oct. 15, at Cove’s Edge Skilled Nursing Care facility in Damariscotta.
She was born in Fort Huachuca, Ariz., the daughter of George and Annie May (Pellett) Manns, and spent her formative years in Marlboro, Mass. She trained at the New England Deaconess Hospital, where she received her RN diploma. She did her preliminary work at Simmons College, Boston University, and the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. She did post graduate work at Northwestern University and Northern Illinois University, and later received her College Health Nurse Practitioner certificate from Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah. She taught classes for the American Red Cross Nurses Aides and Attendant Nurses for many years and was a Crisis Hot Line volunteer.
Emily began her professional career in 1936 at the New England Deaconess Hospital where she served as a surgical nurse. She also served as Executive Assistant Superintendent of Nurses at Marlboro Hospital, Marlboro, Mass.; Operating Room Supervisor and Surgical Supervisor at the Cambridge Sanatorium, Cambridge, Mass.; and Head Nurse at the Sunny Hill Sanatorium in Joliet, Ill., where she met her husband, Joseph Kosinski. She enjoyed a long career as Director of Health Services at Lewis University in Romeoville, Ill., until she retired and moved to Maine more than 25 years ago. She worked part time as a nurse at St. Andrews Hospital, Boothbay, was a Hospice volunteer nurse, and served on the Board of Directors of Hospice of Lincoln County.
Emily was particularly happy to live near the ocean, where she could keep track of osprey and buffleheads in the summer, paint seascapes in the winter, and enjoy the salt air and ocean breezes year round. She had a keen eye and ear for birds, and loved all animals, particularly cats. In the garden she had a green thumb with both vegetables and flowers, especially roses. She was an avid reader of fiction and kept current with local and world affairs. Her hands were never idle. She was an excellent seamstress, and also loved to knit, crochet, embroider, and hook rugs. She had an insatiable appreciation for music and for art, which she studied and practiced in many mediums including clay, ceramic, charcoal, pastel, oil, and most recently, watercolor, inspired by Carol Teel.
Emily was always a student of life, ready to be surprised and delighted by discovery, and, too, was a teacher, ever ready to share her discoveries and expertise. Her pragmatism, wit, compassion, and wisdom will be missed.
She was predeceased by her twin sister, Marion M. Lord, and a niece, Caroline L. Gross.
She is survived by two nieces, Polly Steadman of Damariscotta, and Jane Humphries of Yucca Valley, Cal.; one “adopted” niece, Bonnie Laughlin of Limington; and cousin, Dr. Karen Baron of Hanover, N.H.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Emily’s memory may be made to the Lincoln County Animal Shelter, P.O. Box 7, Edgecomb, ME 04556; Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, P.O. Box 234, Boothbay, ME 04537; or to the charity of one’s choice.
Arrangements are entrusted to Direct Cremation of Maine, Belfast.
