Colonel Valerie Biskey, Ph.D.

Colonel Valerie E. Biskey, retired from the United States Army, died Sunday, July 3, 2011, after a long illness with lymphoma. Dr. Biskey, who held the Doctor of Science in Nursing Administration degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, was the Executive Director of the Macon Volunteer Clinic.

A native of Portsmouth, Virginia, Dr. Biskey graduated from Mount Saint Mary's College in Los Angeles, California with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. She entered the Army Nursing Corps in 1968, where she directed a M.A.S.H. Unit post-operative intensive care in Vietnam. She received her Master of Science in Nursing degree and her Certificate in Family Nurse Practitioner from Indiana-Purdue University in Indianapolis, Indiana.

From 1988 to 1995, she served as Chief of Nursing Research and Nursing Support Services at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. Dr. Biskey also served as Chief of Nursing Administration at Eisenhower Medical Center in Augusta, Georgia. In addition, in 1995, she worked for the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta. From 1996 to 2002, she worked for Care South in various administrative roles both in Macon, GA and Augusta, GA.

Dr. Biskey's tenure at the Macon Volunteer Clinic as Executive Director began in 2002, where she served both the uninsured and the underinsured of Macon, Georgia. It was a labor of love. Her ideas and energy made the clinic successful. A recipient of the bronze star, Dr. Biskey served in both Europe and Vietnam over a 24 year period. She was the 2008 Bibb County Medical Society Citizen of the Year. She also served on the Board of Directors of First Choice Medical.

Dr. Biskey was a member of St. Francis Episcopal Church where she was a member of the vestry and the treasurer.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Stella and Robert Payne, and her brother, David. She is survived by her cousin, Penny Thomas, R.N. of Lynchburg, Virginia, who lovingly cared for Dr. Biskey during her lengthy illness. Other first cousins are Tish Gattis of Cape Canaveral, Florida, Bunny Peyser of Millersville, Maryland, and Phil Payne of Raleigh, North Carolina. Their Aunt Mary Payne of Juneau, Wisconsin also helped provide care to Dr. Biskey.

Funeral arrangements are being handled by Hart's Mortuary at the Cupola, 6324 Peake Road. Visitation will be there from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesday. The Very Reverend S. Chadwick Vaughn will officiate at the funeral service at 2 p.m. on Thursday at Hart's at the Cupola. Burial will be at Arlington National Cemetery in the fall.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Macon Volunteer Clinic, 376 Rogers Avenue, Macon, Georgia 31204.

Register online at www.hartsmort.com.

Hart's Mortuary and crematory at the Cupola has charge of arrangements. Click here to view floral tributes