Remembering Wanda Williams

Dear Colleagues and Students,

For co-workers and students in the School of Pharmacy and Health Professions (SPAHP), and others across our campuses, Wanda Williams was a stellar example of Ignatian practice – a woman who served as a role model for all and embodied the Jesuit ideal of being a person for and with others.

It is with a heavy heart that I share the sad news that Wanda, who served as a student experience coordinator in SPAHP and had been with the school for 18 years, died yesterday evening following her battle with cancer.

SPAHP Dean Amy Friedman Wilson, PharmD, remembers Wanda as someone who “touched all corners of the Creighton community, from Alaska to Phoenix to Omaha to Denver, and wherever our distance pharmacy students lived.”

In 2022, Wanda received the University’s Distinguished Staff Service Award and this past April SPAHP students honored her as the Staff Member of the Year. She was recognized for going the extra mile to ensure students felt personally connected to Creighton, bringing an infectious, positive energy to every interaction.    

Dean Wilson shares that the inspirational daily calendar that occupied a prominent place on Wanda’s desk had an especially moving, and appropriate, reflection for yesterday: “Be blessed with a quiet heart today – God is taking care of everything that concerns you.”

With that same sentiment, I offer my prayers for Wanda, her family and friends, our SPAHP community, and all those who were a part of her life. May you find comfort and strength in our ever-loving God.

Since Wanda’s cancer diagnosis, many students and colleagues have dropped off cards to share with her family. Cards of support and condolences can continue to be directed to the SPAHP Office of Admissions in Criss III, Suite 151.

Know, too, that resources are available to faculty, staff, and students needing extra support during this difficult time. Our colleagues in Student Counseling Services and Campus Ministry are available, and faculty and staff also can make use of the Employee Assistance Program. In addition, SPAHP's Office of Academic and Student Affairs and Chaplain Celeste Sully Feuerbach can offer support, particularly for SPAHP students and colleagues.

Information about services for Wanda will be shared in Creighton Today as they are available.

For now, please join me in keeping Wanda, her family and friends, and her colleagues in your thoughts and prayers. We especially hold in our hearts Wanda’s daughter and three grandchildren and the friends and loved ones who cared for her during her illness. May we be witnesses of the love Wanda showed for life and for all people in our support for each other.

In Christ,

Rev. Daniel S. Hendrickson, SJ, PhD

Creighton President