Mary Jan Koop considers herself a professional volunteer after being honored as a hospice volunteer with Schneck Medical Center for 30 years Monday. That’s not the only hat, however, that she wears.

You might have seen Koop complete your taxes through Jackson County United Way; maybe she delivered you lunch through Meals on Wheels; it’s possible she ushered you to a seat for a show at the Brown County Music Center; she could have sold you on an item at the Trinity Resale Shop or maybe she held your loved ones hand as they face their end of life.

“I have found the hospice program to be very rewarding having built relationships with each of these families,” she said. “It has been an honor and a blessing for me. The fact that it has been 30 years is hard to believe.”

She was honored during the Hospice Volunteer quarterly meeting at the Laurel House Building. Becky Floyd, Debbie Hemmelgarn, Jane Norman and Giles Spaulding were also recognized for 100 hours of volunteer service.

Koop grew up in a military family moving all over the country and it wasn’t until her family was stationed in Honolulu, Hawaii, that she found her love for giving back.

At 14, Koop worked as a candy stripper in the “big pink palace on the hill,” which is the Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii and the largest military treatment facility in the Pacific Rim.

“I spent a lot of time there as a child,” she said. “It was there where I found joy and fulfillment in helping others.”

When the family left Hawaii, she lived in Indianapolis until she married her husband, Leonard, and moved to Jackson County.

“When I moved here 40 years ago there were two stores and nothing but cornfields,” she said.

While Seymour has changed over time, Koop said in the past, volunteer and job opportunities were limited. When she found an opportunity to volunteer with hospice at Schneck Medical Center she knew immediately it was meant for her.

“I knew it was a chance for me to get involved, meet new people and give back to my community,” she said. “I love people and I want to get to know them.”

Koop started volunteering with hospice in August of 1994, with a full-time job in banking and her then 7-year-old son, Nick, to look after. She is the first volunteer to serve 30 years, not only in the hospice department, but the Schneck Medical Center Guild as well.

“During my time with hospice, I have met people from all walks of life and all over the surrounding counties,” she said. “The experience of getting to know my patients and their unique stories have been a pleasure and a privilege for me.”

Amy Pettit, vice president of Patient Care Services at Schneck Medical Center, wrote Koop a letter congratulating her on this milestone.

“For three decades, you have been a pillar of strength, kindness and comfort for the patients and families we serve,” Pettit wrote. “Your dedication to our mission has made a profound difference in the lives of so many during their most challenging time. Your ability to bring solace and warmth to those facing end of life is a gift words can scarcely express.”

While hospice’s mission is to provide comfort and care to someone who is terminally ill, Koop said the biggest misconception of hospice is that it’s a place where people go to give up on life.

“It’s not what everybody thinks it is,” she said. “We are there to help take care of people.”

Whether it’s painting, baking, gardening or simply having a listening ear, Koop has done it all.

“I am there for the patient and whatever they need,” she said. “Even if it’s just holding their hand and not saying a word.”

Koop said not only are hospice volunteers there to take care of the patient, but to relieve the caregivers as well, even if it’s just for a breath of fresh air, a haircut or a trip to the grocery store.

“The caregivers need help too,” she said. “When you are taking care of someone day-in and day-out, it’s hard work. If I can go in there and do something for them so they don’t have to worry for a moment, what a blessing.”

Koop recalled one memory of receiving a volunteer request where the patient specifically asked for her.

“I was like ‘Really? Who even knows I do this’,” she said. “I immediately recognized the name as I cared for the patient’s mother 15 to 20 years ago in the hours we spent talking and putting puzzles together. Of course, I said yes, and it was an honor to know that I made a difference in someone’s life.”

Over the years, Koop said a few of her patients have improved, with one of them recently graduating from the hospice program.

“As soon as I build a relationship with someone, it is hard to let them go,” she said. “So, I continue to visit her every Wednesday afternoon on my own. This is our fourth year together.”

Koop also has been involved in facilitating free bereavement classes using the GriefShare curriculum, a 13-week program for those coping with the loss of a loved one, not just families who have been served by hospice.

“The program is excellent,” she said. “When losing someone, it is hard because you become attached to them. With our hospice patients it’s not only the family’s loss, but our loss too.”

Koop said she attends viewings and funerals of past patients to help bring her closure. It’s also a time to reconnect with the families and offer her support.

Now that she is retired, Koop spends the majority of her days giving back to the community that has given so much to her.

“People say, ‘You do everything and don’t make a cent’,” she said. “I just say, ‘That’s okay, it’s what giving back is all about”.”

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Hospice offers a guest speaker program if a church or civic group would like to know more about what Hospice care can provide for a person at end of life. They offer access to a social worker, chaplain, volunteer companionship, RN, housekeeping and nurse aids all overseen by their Medical Director Dr. Pam Snook-Tidd.

For anyone interested in free bereavement classes they are offered at three different locations. The Point, 311 Myers St., Thursday from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.; First Baptist Church, 505 Community Drive, Tuesday from 10 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. and at Calvary Baptist Church, 1202 N. Ewing St. Tuesday from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Hospice is looking for recruitment of more volunteers. Call Schneck Medical Center’s Hospice Department at 812-523-4879 Monday through Friday if you are interested. Leave your name and phone number and someone will reach out. Orientation to new volunteers will also be offered and is usually completed in four to five hours.