Enid Schroeder, 80, an emergency-room nurse whose career spanned 50 years, died Thursday, March 7, of complications from renal disease. Mrs. Schroeder was a front-line nurse who was an expert in all aspects of triage and trauma. On any given night in her 3-to-11 p.m. shift, she could wrap a sprained ankle, cast a broken bone or massage an open heart. She grew up in Canada and was raised in Wisconsin. Her family moved to Chicago before she was 10. It was no surprise to family she would follow in her mother’s footsteps and go into nursing. “She always liked helping people,” said Mrs. Schroeder’s daughter Gail MacDonald, who recalled stories of her mother asking for a microscope kit at the age of 9. After graduating from Grant Hospital Nursing School in Chicago, she worked as a nurse for lumber companies in Washington before joining the U.S. Army, which stationed her as a nurse in Chicago. She had looked into becoming a doctor, “but it was the ’40s and they didn’t allow women,” said another daughter, Leslie Jennings. So, Mrs. Schroeder dedicated her life to nursing, working for many years at Rush North Shore Hospital in Skokie, where she was known as “ma” to co-workers. Her son, Mark, recalls coming home late with his friends many nights and sitting around the kitchen table, his mother still in her nurse’s uniform. “She would talk about her night and we’d listen to the stories. A lot of people couldn’t handle the job, but she did. She was gifted that way.” Mrs. Schroeder enjoyed sports and in her younger days played tennis with Bobby Riggs as a doubles partner, said her son, adding, “She worked hard and played hard.” Other survivors include a sister, Edwina Ray, and three grandchildren. Services will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday in Simkins Funeral Home, 6251 Dempster St., Morton Grove.
