A FINAL CALL

Capital Region Nurses Honor Guard pays lasting tribute to their colleagues

Esther Rappold (second from l.) and volunteers from the Capital Region Nurses Honor Guard traveled to the Firemen’s Home Chapel in Hudson on April 8 to honor Judy Smith, LPN, with the Nightingale Tribute. (Photo provided)

Esther Rappold is no stranger to the ins and outs of nursing. 

A parishioner at St. Pius X Church in Loudonville, Rappold worked at Memorial Hospital in Albany for 67 years before retiring in 2020. Even today, at 93 years old, she continues her nursing spirit as a volunteer with the Capital Region Nurses Honor Guard. 

The Nurses Honor Guard is a volunteer group of active and retired nurses who attend funeral services, memorial services or celebrations of life to honor and pay tribute to nurses at the time of their death. The service is similar to that of a military tribute and officially releases the nurse from their nursing duties.

“You get reacquainted with nurses that you worked with,” Rappold said. “It’s a great way to meet new and different people.”

National Nurses Week, which began on May 6 and runs through May 12, ends on International Nurses Day, the birthday of Florence Nightingale, often credited with founding modern nursing.

Each ceremony by the Nurses Honor Guard includes a reading of the “Nightingale Tribute,” which includes a synopsis of the honored nurse’s career, a poem reading and a white rose being placed on the casket or urn. 

“It’s very emotional,” said Gina Picarillo, Capital Region Nurses Honor Guard coordinator. 

The Capital Region Chapter was founded in 2022 and has approximately 250 members, with around 70 active members attending tributes. As awareness around the group has increased, so have tribute requests. The group holds around eight tributes a month, typically at funeral homes, across Albany, Columbia, Greene, Rensselaer, Saratoga and Schenectady Counties. 

“We’ve done several that are our colleagues, and it’s very humbling,” Picarillo said. “I found it very comforting, both for the family and for us, too. For the family, we’re honoring the person that passed away, and for us, it’s comforting for us to be supportive of each other as nurses.”

Picarillo was a nurse at Albany Medical Center Hospital for 31 years, focusing primarily on the general pediatric unit and the pediatric intensive care units. She also served as the Director of Nursing at Whitney Young Health Center and as a clinical instructor for Russell Sage College. 

Now retired, she helps as a substitute nurse at St. Jude the Apostle in Wynantskill. In 2024, Picarillo took over as one of the coordinators for the guard, alongside Anne Lamora.

“I enjoy serving as a coordinator, working closely with families, funeral directors, and members of the Nurses Honor Guard to organize meaningful services for our fallen colleagues, as well as supporting community events,” Picarillo said. “This role allows me to ensure that each tribute is carried out with dignity, respect and compassion.”

Each tribute ceremony lasts around 5-7 minutes and is typically performed by 5-to-10 volunteers from the guard. Each member comes dressed in the guard’s all-white uniform, nursing cap and a navy-blue cape with red lining, a homage to traditional nursing attire.

The ceremony begins with a performance of the Nightingale Tribute, followed by the final roll call. A guard member will call out the nurse’s name three times, and after each call, another member rings a triangle. At the end of the call, the group announces that the nurse has been released from their earthly duties. 

As a final farewell, a Nightingale lamp — which is lit for the duration of the ceremony — is extinguished at the end of the tribute, officially ending the nurse’s career on Earth.

“I find that the hardest part,” Picarillo said, “and I think that is the hardest part for the family. We distinguish the lamp, and then we present it to a family member or a friend.”

The ceremony typically closes with a reading of the nurse’s prayer. 

“You get chills when you see it,” Rappold said. 

Many families have reached out to the guard after a tribute to thank them, sending cards or donations in honor of their loved ones, as a means to help carry on the tributes going forward.

“Some people say, ‘How can you go to all these funerals?’ ” Picarillo said. “But I think of it as a tribute; that we’re honoring that person.” 

The Capital Region Nurses Honor Guard pays tributes to nurses of all faiths and nursing professions (LPN, RN, CRNA, CNM or NP) across Albany, Columbia, Greene, Rensselaer, Saratoga and Schenectady Counties. If you are interested in joining the guard or wish to request a tribute, please email [email protected].