Pamela Jean Merriam

December 15, 2020. She stubbornly waited to do so, longer than seemed humanly possible that day,

for completion of one of her wishes. In typical Pamela fashion, she stubbornly refused to leave this

existence until the moment everything was finalized for her last contribution to the medical field, an

organ donation. She is survived by her sister, two nieces, two great nieces, a great nephew, her

godparents, a panoply of friends and professional colleagues who loved and admired her and whom she

loved with all her heart.

Our loved one was born in Santa Monica, California on August 12, 1956 at Providence St. John's

Hospital, and she came full circle back to St. John's for her final care and donation. She graduated with

the Upland High School Class of 1974 in Upland, California and from Mount Saint Mary's University,

Los Angeles in 1978 with a degree in nursing. She went on to obtain two Master's Degrees - one as a

Clinical Nurse Specialist, the other as an Adult Nurse Practitioner (NP) - both from California State

University, Los Angeles. Her first professional position in 1978 was with Valley Presbyerian Hospital

in Van Nuys, California, and she later worked for decades at the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer

Center & Hospital/Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC) as an NP.

Our friend was also a leader and teacher in her craft and had an intimidating resume that reads like a

novel. Pamela skillfully created a bridge between her knowledge and her patients, delivering the utmost

care in attending to their needs. She also taught the NP students at UCLA and USC how to build this

bridge in their careers. Her professional career was beyond reproach and her bedside manner, meshed

with her ability to clearly articulate her extensive medical knowledge, was a breath of fresh air for

those who received or sought her counsel.

Pamela was honored with many professional awards. However, the one she was most proud of was the

Robert T. Angarola Award for Excellence in Cancer Pain Management in 2010 from the Southern

California Cancer Pain Initiative. Most of us knew very little about her extensive accomplishments,

because above all else, Pamela was modest and unassuming.

During her remarkable life full of adventurous travels and marked by her noble, compassionate career

in palliative care and pain management, Pamela developed long-lasting friendships everywhere she

went. She had a collection of friends, some with special group names, that sprang from different pafts

of her extraordinary life: the Yayas, the Train Gang, the Pain Nurses, the cruise friends, among others.

With some of us, she traveled, explored and participated in movie/dinner theme nights, and with others

of us, she had potluck get-togethers, craft activities, always something interesting to share.

Her CPA got to know her well enough to share this recently. "We are in an era where healthcare

providers are encouraged to limit time spent with their patients. Pain management is truly an art.

Pamela was determined to spend the time necessary with each patient to ensure the best outcomes

possible even when her supervisors pressured her to increase the number of patients she saw. Pamela

was a professional who truly cared about every patient and outcomes achieved and practiced medicine

in a way that is sadly becoming obsolete."

We all stayed in touch with her because she stayed in touch with us. She loved to travel, hike, white

water raft (Grand Canyon), ride horses, whale watch, visit national parks, climb mountains (Yosemite's

Half Dome) and, of course, attend nursing conventions around the country, devouring every detail

about the history, sites and culture and collecting memorabilia all along the way ...... lots of it!