As Blue Ridge Care marks 45 years of service, conversations with team members, volunteers and community members have brought forward the stories that have shaped who we are. Across those stories, a common thread emerges: a sense of purpose that goes beyond role or title.
That was especially true in the story of Edie McGoff-Donovan and George Donovan.
For Edie, service has been a through line across much of her life. A retired nurse and lieutenant colonel, Edie served 20 years in the West Virginia Air National Guard, with deployments to Iraq, Macedonia, and Saudi Arabia. She later spent 17 years as a member of Shenandoah University's adjunct nursing faculty.
George's path was different, but service shaped his life, too. A U.S. Navy hospital corpsman, George served with Marine units and completed two tours in Vietnam. His work took him from military hospitals and bases to the front line, where caring for fellow service members became part of his own experience of war.
Decades later, both continue to serve through Blue Ridge Care's Veterans Program, honoring fellow veterans and helping ensure their service is recognized at the end of life.
For George, there's a direct connection between the work he did then and the work he chooses to do now.
“My whole career has been in military hospitals, military bases, and it’s payback time. I want to help my fellow veterans.”
During her military career, Edie worked in aeromedical evacuation, caring for service members across a wide range of circumstances, including those nearing the end of life.
"I want to be there for them because they appreciate being a fellow veteran as opposed to just somebody, a healthcare worker in the hospital," Edie said. "This is special to them."
Two different experiences of military service, carried forward in the same way: by showing up for another veteran.
The 2026 Field of Honor brought the community together in tribute to those who served, with Blue Ridge Care’s Veterans Program among the event’s beneficiaries. We’re grateful to the Rotary Club for its support of our Veterans Program and continued commitment to honoring veterans throughout our community.
Edie McGoff-Donovan and George Donovan honor a fellow veteran through Blue Ridge Care’s Veterans Program, offering recognition, gratitude and a shared understanding of service.
A Shared Understanding
Their work through Blue Ridge Care's Veterans Program isn't about recognition in the traditional sense. It's not a large stage or a formal ceremony. Most often, it's quiet. Personal. Sometimes just a handful of people gathered at a bedside.
But it's intentional.
George's own experiences caring for injured and dying service members during his military career are part of why these moments matter so deeply. He remembers service members arriving directly from Vietnam at military medical facilities, some with injuries they would not survive, and sitting and talking with them as they approached the end of their lives.
Decades later, that experience stays with him.
"Knowing that background and experience that I actually lived through, I wanted to make sure that I can pass that on to every veteran that we do the program for," George said. "We want them to know that they were appreciated and we thank them for their service."
An enormous amount of care goes into each interaction. The preparation. The details. The thought behind every step.
From gathering a veteran's service information to the meaningful items presented during the ceremony, each piece carries the same message: Your life mattered. Your service is seen.
For Edie, one ceremony in particular has stayed with her.
A Squeeze of the Hand
A former commanding officer was receiving hospice care at Blue Ridge Care’s Inpatient Care Unit. Edie sat beside the bed, held her hand, and spoke the words of the veteran recognition ceremony quietly into her ear.
“When I was finished with everything and we played the service song for her, she squeezed my hand. So I knew she heard it.”
For Edie, that squeeze of the hand was enough. She knew the words had reached her. In a ceremony meant to make sure a veteran's service was seen and remembered, there was nothing more that needed to be said.
Casey Miller, one of Blue Ridge Care’s board-certified music therapists performs during a veteran recognition ceremony, helping create an even more personal and meaningful tribute.
The Homecoming They Deserve
For George, honoring veterans has particular meaning because he remembers how they were treated when they returned home.
"A lot of the veterans, when they came back from Vietnam or came back from Korea, they were disrespected," George said. "And we are here to honor them in their final moments."
George said those experiences can make recognition difficult for some veterans to accept. That is why he and Edie want them to know their service is valued. Their work offers more than recognition — it offers restoration.
It means being there when it matters most, offering the appreciation veterans should have received long ago.
A Lifetime of Service
Earlier this year, Edie's commitment to service received national recognition when she was selected for the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution's 2026 Outstanding Veteran Volunteer Award.
The honor recognizes military veterans who continue to serve their communities. Edie's volunteer work extends beyond Blue Ridge Care, including service with Honor Flight – Top of Virginia and the Greater Shenandoah Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross.
But sitting with Edie and George, what stayed with me wasn't the list of organizations, awards or accomplishments.
It was the reason behind all of it.
Service, for both of them, didn't end when they left the military.
It simply changed form.
Edie McGoff-Donovan was selected for the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution’s 2026 Outstanding Veteran Volunteer Award, recognizing her continued commitment to serving others.
“I’m just so privileged to be able to be at the end of my career, being able to do this for the veterans.”
Carrying The Promise Forward
Programs evolve. Teams change. But what remains constant is the heart behind the work.
People like Edie and George. People who see a need and step forward. People who carry their own stories of service into the lives of others.
"The more people that we can contact, the better," George said.
It feels fitting, as Blue Ridge Care marks 45 years, that their story doesn't end by looking backward.
Edie and George are still looking ahead, toward the next veteran they can reach, the next family they can support and the next opportunity to make sure someone knows their service has not been forgotten.
Forty-five years into Blue Ridge Care's story, that promise of service carries forward.
