Virginia Cyples Gigi (1916-2020) entered the three-year nursing program at Martins Ferry Hospital in Martins Ferry, Ohio, in 1934. After graduation Gigi worked at Mercy Hospital in Canton, Ohio, in both the emergency room and surgery. Deciding that she liked surgery best, she went to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for a surgical training program. In December 1940 she was recruited by the Army Nurse Corp and served until January 1946. During her service Gigi made two round trip voyages across the Atlantic Ocean caring for soldiers going to and returning from the European Theater on the USS Queen Mary. Then she was transferred to the Pacific and made the voyage to Japan on the SS Comfort. Using her G.I. benefits, Gigi obtained her Bachelor of Nursing Science degree from The Ohio State University and taught in the nursing school until her marriage.
The Virginia Gigi Oral History (0.25 linear foot) contains a copy of an oral history interview conducted with Gigi on July 21, 2004, about Gigi’s life and career accompanied by booklets from Grant Hospital School of Nursing and her obituary.
The collection is open to the public and is available for viewing in the Medical Heritage Center. Materials do not circulate and must be used in the supervised reading room. Restrictions, including copyright, may exist and some materials may be too fragile to photocopy or digitize. The MHC charges for duplication services, which must be performed by staff.
[Identification of item], Virginia Gigi Oral History, SPEC.202515.GIGIORALHISTORY, Medical Heritage Center, Health Sciences Library, The Ohio State University.