Victoria Christie Hewey

Vicky was born on March 6, 1946 in New York, New York and raised in Floral Park, Long Island before her family relocated to Greenwich, Connecticut. Upon graduating from Greenwich High School, she went on to earn her BSN in Nursing from UCONN where she was a member of the prestigious Sigma Theta Tau national honor society. She started her 40-year nursing career at the Institute of Living in Hartford and later found her calling in homecare nursing working at various agencies including Connecticut Community Care, the Vernon VNA, and Almost Family in Newton, MA. Vicky valued the connections she made with her patients and families, the continuous learning nursing afforded her across multiple specializations, and the satisfaction and service of patient advocacy. In the latter half of her career, she developed an affinity for home hospice nursing and took on leadership work in shepherding new nurses and developing Alzheimer's support groups. In 2004 she was proud to receive the Nightingale Award for her exemplary impact.

From a young age Vicky was known in her family to not only be a natural caretaker, but to also be a highly skilled seamstress, sewing stylish caftans for her mom, a gorgeous wool gabardine skirt for her daughter, and blankees, booties, and jumpers for her beloved granddaughter. She was an avid reader of all the great fashion mags on the newsstands, enjoying garment design, draping and fabric. She was also known for surprising family members with a quick redraping of their garments or, in coy jest, sneaking feel tests of their clothing fabrics.

Vicky spent much of her cancer journey in hospitals and certainly made the best of it, reading fashion mags and knitting books, planning projects, and hand-winding skeins of yarn. She enjoyed partnering with her nurses as ‘part of the family’, and ultimately hoped her complex case would become part of her legacy, in service to younger clinicians’ professional and personal growth.

Vicky and her family are grateful to the many clinicians who supported them during her cancer journey. MGH’s Complex Care, Palliative Care, Interventional Radiology, Orthopedic Oncology, Infectious Diseases, Hematology, Medical and Radiation Oncology, Lunder 9 Nursing, and Emergency Department clinicians supported Vicky’s care across seven months of her complex health journey. Vicky had a special relationship with her MGH Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and Palliative Care teams which were a consistent and unmatched source of hope, positivity, and encouragement to her. She was equally in awe of the generous care provided by Dr. Thompson and APRN Parris of MGH’s Complex Care team, who she said “absolutely have secure spots in heaven!” At Hartford Hospital Vicky was thankful for the exceptional care and compassion provided by Bethany Ty, and, at Manchester Hospital, Dr. Raymond Mobley and the ICU Nursing team. Vicky was especially grateful for her daughter, Allison, who was not only her cancer journey ‘co-pilot’, but also fierce healthcare and disability advocate across multiple hospital settings.

Vicky’s surviving relatives include her devoted son Ryan Hewey of CT, daughter Allison Scully, son-in-law Stephen Scully and beloved granddaughter Ava Louise Scully of MA, brothers Duncan and Bill Christie, and former husband Robin Hewey who became a valued friend in her final months. Vicky was predeceased by both of her parents Carolyn (Christie) Jones and Alistair Christie, as well as her older sister Christine Herbst.

Vicky’s hope was that those who wish to memorialize her life will consider making a charitable donation to the Humane Society or take part in advocacy efforts that aim to improve patient experience and healthcare access.