Veteran nurse was leader in community

SANDUSKY - LoyBelle Poole, 82, a registered nurse for decades at the former Providence Hospital who quickly emerged as a leader in the community groups for which she volunteered, died Sunday at Firelands Regional Medical Center.

The cause of death was not known, but she reported feeling ill early in the day, son Wesley said. She lived at Parkvue Place retirement community.

She was a former board chairman of the Counseling and Growth Center and of Goodwill Industries, both in Sandusky. Mrs. Poole was on the boards of Sandusky State Theatre and Bayshore Counseling Services. She was a former president of the local Black Business and Professional Women.

She was among six members of the Alliance for Retired Americans who addressed the senior caucus of the Democratic National Committee during the party's 2004 national convention in Boston.

"She was the natural leader in any group," said Jerry Davis, former chief executive officer of Goodwill Industries in Sandusky.

"She understood how to get things done. Her selflessness was what contributed to people rallying around her," said Mr. Davis, CEO the last 12 years of Goodwill Industries of Central Texas in Austin. For a time, he was chairman of Goodwill International in Washington.

She was outgoing chairman of the Goodwill board in Sandusky that in 1993 hired Mr. Davis, who was taking a chance on a career change when he applied. "This person was key to my whole life, my whole family's life," Mr. Davis said.

Mrs. Poole was a nurse and he was an occupational therapist in 1988 when he joined a team she led at Providence that evaluated whether patients would benefit from skilled nursing care.

"LoyBelle was a straight shooter, and she was the best combination you can imagine of being hard-nosed and having the biggest heart in the world," Mr. Davis said.

A 1944 graduate of Sandusky High, she was a secretary at the Philco Corp. plant and at the Erie Army Depot. She made her own career change in the 1950s and became a nurse's aide at Providence Hospital. Later she was admitted to the hospital's nursing school, though as a practice married women with children weren't allowed, her son said.

"My mother was quite driven to continue to better herself," son Wesley said.

She graduated in 1962 and, for more than 30 years, worked in medical-surgical units and was a charge nurse, head nurse, and house supervisor.

She took two years off from hospital nursing to be the nurse-manager of a physician's office. She returned to Providence and retired in 1994.

Mrs. Poole was born June 20, 1927, in Cleveland. She was a girl when the family moved to Sandusky after her father's death.

She was a member of Second Baptist Church, Sandusky.

She and her husband, Clarence Leon Poole, married Jan. 14, 1950. He died May 13, 1984.

Surviving are her sons, Charles Wesley, Clarence Leon "Jack," Jr., William N., and John D. Poole; three granddaughters, and a great-granddaughter.

Services will be at

10:30 a.m. Monday in Toft Funeral Home, Sandusky, where the family will greet friends from 6-8 p.m. Sunday. The family suggests tributes to a charity of the donor's choice.

Contact Mark Zaborney at:

mzaborney@theblade.com

or 419-724-6182.