When Donna Bauer looks back over her career, she remembers most fondly the people who have helped her along the way.
They were mentors and bosses. Co-workers and customers. Family and friends.
Bauer, age 83, is a “people person” who immediately puts visitors at ease with her warmth and easy conversation.
She enjoys working with people so much, it took her 65 years to decide to retire. She worked 45 years for Allen County Regional Hospital and another 20 for Iola Pharmacy’s medical equipment office.
So what’s her idea of retirement? She’s joined the hospital’s auxiliary group, where she will greet and guide patients as a volunteer.
On Friday afternoon, many of those she’s known over the years came to a retirement reception to wish her well as she transitions to this new endeavor.
BAUER grew up in Elsmore and describes herself as being shy until she was 13, when her older brother found her a weekend job as a waitress.
“He said, ‘I think that would be good for you.’ I hated to tell him that it really was,” she recalled.
That was her first experience working with the public.
Her mother was very outgoing and encouraged community service through activities like 4-H and playing the piano and organ at church.
“I’ve always liked to help people,” she said. “My mother told me to speak the truth and say what you think. So I’ve always done that.”
Bauer was just 17 in 1959 when she started working at the switchboard for Allen County Hospital, back when the hospital was located at what’s now the site of G&W Foods.
That’s when she met Leona Masterson, who worked at the hospital and whose son John would serve as president of Allen Community College for decades.
“She really impressed me and taught me to really care for the public. She made me want to make a difference when it came to helping people,” Bauer said. 
Later, Bauer moved to patient accounts, payroll and accounts payable before becoming assistant director of financial services.
“Two of my bosses are still here in Iola, which is kind of neat. In fact, one of them was in here yesterday,” she said. “I learned a lot and they taught me well.”
She recalled a particular “learning moment” that came while working for Larry Peterson, the hospital’s former financial director.
“One time I was off by just a penny. I said, ‘Larry, can I just adjust that?’ And he said, ‘Nope. That could be $1,000. It could be a million.’ So he made me go back and find it.”
From the beginning, Bauer was eager to learn. Administrators sent her to training in Dallas, Chicago and St. Louis to learn how to use this newfangled technology called a computer. When she wanted to learn accounting, they sent her to Clark’s School of Business in Topeka. She took more college courses to learn about computers and accounting.
“Everything was manual at that point,” she said. “Medicare started in 1966 and we had to record everything manually. Then we finally went to a posting machine, which used ledger cards for payroll and accounts payable. It was sort of like a glorified typewriter.”
If the machine broke down, she and other staff would have to manually type payroll checks for 200 employees. That would make for a long day.
For more than 30 years, Bauer worked with Sandy Marvin. “We worked side-by-side on all the office procedures.”
Cross-training was important, too. If any department needed assistance, Bauer and Marvin would jump in to help.
“One year we had a terrible windstorm and there were a lot of injuries, so they said, we’re going to have you help in the ER. And we did that.”
DONNA BAUER retired from the hospital in May 2004. A week later, she began working for her son, Jim Bauer, and his partners at Iola Pharmacy. Donna worked at Iola Respiratory & Home Medical, the pharmacy’s medical equipment side of business.
It was an easy transition. She was still in the healthcare industry. She was still helping people.
“I read a lot about what elderly people — which I’m there now — might need. I ask questions like, do they need bed rails so they can hang on to something if they need to get up? Do they have hand bars in the bathroom? Do they need a cane or a walker? Sometimes people just need someone to listen to them,” she said.
Again, Bauer gave credit to others who worked with her over the years, such as Randy Smith (“He’s another real sweet one,” she said). She became especially close to co-worker Jordan Spears and joked that she and husband Don “adopted Jordan as a granddaughter.”
Iola Pharmacy sold the medical equipment business to Care 4 All Home Medical Equipment in January. Bauer helped with the transition.
Concerned that his mother might feel at a loss with retirement, Jim recently brought Donna an application to join the hospital auxiliary.
“I told him, ‘I already worked four hours there last week,’” she said, laughing.
“I’m kind of making a full circle, going back to the hospital.”
DONNA AND Don Bauer grew up together and were married in 1960. Don farmed and sold insurance.
They have three children, seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
“My goal was for all my kids to get training. I didn’t care if they went to college as long as they had some sort of training,” she said.
Their oldest, Judy Johnson, took part in a program that brought high school students to work at the hospital for laboratory, radiology and business. That experience led her to change her degree to pharmacy. She now lives in Wichita.
Jim, though, knew he wanted to be a pharmacist since junior high school. When he became an owner of Iola Pharmacy, Donna welcomed his business partners into the family fold.
“Jim Arnott and then Bill Walden, Travis Coffield. They’re all kind of like my kids,” she said.
Daughter Terry Varner became a dental hygienist. She lives in Midland, Texas.
“There were so many people in town who helped our kids pursue their dreams,” she said.
Her story wouldn’t be complete without mentioning Mary Ann Magnuson Patterson, Don’s younger sister. From the moment they met, Donna and Mary Ann were best friends. Their families live within a half-mile of each other. Their bond grew even stronger after Mary Ann’s husband, Dr. Larry Magnuson, a dentist, was murdered in 1994. They had four children.
The families spent so much time together that Donna Bauer often tells people she has seven children, counting Mary Ann’s along with her own.
“Mary Ann and I became more like sisters. We talk every day. We’re closer than ever,” she said.
“I’ve been truly blessed. Yes, our family has had some sadness. Everyone does. But we always strive to do our best.”
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