Board of Directors
The Friends of Hospice, a not-for profit organization established in 1994, is governed by an all volunteer board of community members.
The board is committed to serving individuals, and their families, and caregivers on their end-of-life journey.
Outreach and education within our communities on hospice care and end-of-life services, is paramount with the board. Community bereavement support is an integral part of the board’s mission, and is offered to anyone grieving over a loss, whether part of hospice or not.
Officers
Ken Carper, President
Pullman
Not only did both of Ken’s parents die recently, but also his best friend and fishing companion of 35 years. He witnessed first-hand the comfort hospice programs provide to the dying, their caregivers, friends, and family members. When the opportunity was presented to assist in this important work through involvement on the Friends of Hospice board, Ken was eager to accept. How can one not be a “friend of hospice?”
Ken is a registered architect with degrees in architecture and in structural engineering. Following architectural practice in Spokane, he and his wife, Tanya, moved to Pullman, where Ken was on the WSU Architecture faculty for 40 years, teaching structural engineering to students in architecture and in construction management. His principal research area is forensic engineering, the investigation of engineering failures and the important lessons that can be learned from them.
Since Ken’s retirement in 2012, he has been improving his skills in fly fishing and in photography. He is grateful to live in this beautiful and peaceful region known as the Palouse, and enjoys recording its unique images of rolling farmland and agricultural buildings. Some of his work can be viewed on his website: kencarperphotos.com. Ken’s Palouse landscape photography has been recognized by regional and national awards. He has no awards from fly fishing to report—yet!
Fun Fact:
Ken is known professionally for his pioneering work in the topic of forensic engineering. He has presented invited lectures throughout the world, and has written a number of books and journal articles on the subject. For 30 years, he was the chief editor for an international journal that published case histories of engineering failure investigations. Many of his colleagues and former students have told him that whenever they hear the word, “failure,” the first thing that comes to mind is “Ken Carper.”
Bob Ingalls, Vice President
Colfax
Bob is very committed to serving people at the end of their lives and to caring for their families. He does this as a hospice volunteer, as a board member of Friends of Hospice, through his work in Advance Care Planning, and in his personal life. He sums his life up with one word: servant.
Bob served the people of Whitman County for over thirty years through the sheriff’s office. For most of those years, Bob held the position of jail administrator. For twelve years Bob, who now lives outside Steptoe, served the people of Colfax on their City Council. Bob is ordained in the United Church of Christ and has been serving churches, mostly on the Palouse, for more than forty years; with nearly 20 of those years in Malden. Bob has been a member of the Friends of Hospice board since January 2012.
Fun Fact:
Bob has a small orchard on his property and spends countless hours canning, juicing, dehydrating, and sharing fruit. Highlights of each Fall are cider making parties.
Barbara Sanborn, Secretary
Pullman
As a retired social worker, Barb knew she still wanted to pursue her passion for improving people’s lives. She joined the Friends of Hospice board in November 2015 because she believes their mission perfectly reflects that passion.
Her past experience as a social worker, and as the daughter of very elderly parents, taught Barb that most people want to make their own decisions about their final days, yet families are often reluctant to initiate the conversation that would allow them to make their wishes known. One of the goals of Friends of Hospice is to offer education and guidance to assist people to formally notify their families and most critically, their physicians, of their end of life plans before it is too late.
In addition to Friends of Hospice, Barb dabbles in many other interests including foreign travel, languages, literature, experimental gourmet cooking, gardening, exercise, Friday movie night and she shares her spouse’s enthusiasm for his 6 grandchildren.
Fun Fact:
Barb’s daily routine is wholly scheduled and controlled by her fabulous cat, Olaf.
Janice McEldowney, Treasurer
Pullman
Jan worked as a Certified Public Accountant in Pullman, supported by her BA of Education from Holy Cross College in New Orleans and a Master of Tax from Gonzaga University in Spokane.
Jan, with her husband, Bernie, moved to Pullman WA from Colfax WA, built a home and together started the firm of McEldowney & McEldowney, PS in the fall of 1977. We established our office on Bishop Blvd in the building owned by a local law firm. We actively worked for town, gown, and farm clients for the next 36 years, offering tax return preparation and advice as well as accounting services and planning. We also taught accounting at Washington State University as part-time adjunct faculty for 25 years. In the fall of 2013, we realized age and changes in our profession required us to retire from the practice. Our family growth also added to our decision.
Family
When we moved to Pullman, our daughter, Carey, was six years old and son, Sean, almost two years old. We added our daughter, Jamie, in 1982. All three attended Montessori School, Franklin and Sunnyside Grade Schools, Lincoln Middle School, and Pullman High School. Despite our busy schedules, we missed few school, athletic, or dance events. We are now, obviously, empty nesters with our children with families and professions of their own. We spend a lot of our retirement time visiting them in locations from the West Coast to the East Coast to Australia.
Why I Joined
I joined Friends of Hospice to enrich my background by serving as the Treasurer of the organization. I have always admired Hospice as my father had their services in 1984 when at Sacred Heart in Spokane. His final hours were peaceful and calm. I have also watched friends and neighbours receiving care from Friends of Hospice and am excited to support the organization’s upcoming plans.
Fun Fact:
By my early 60s, I realised I had a desire to be on top of a mountain. A planned safari helped me convince my husband to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa (19,340 ft), then Everest Base Camp (17,500 ft), then adventures in the Alps.
Board Members
Jeannie Eylar
Colton
Jeannie is the newest member of the board, joining in January of 2022. She has had the privilege of serving as the Chief Nursing Officer at Pullman Regional Hospital since 1993. Serving in this capacity has allowed her to collaborate and coordinate with many different agencies.
Working with oncology patients early her career, helped her to understand the experience that patients and families deal with, especially facing end of life decisions. Jeannie believes one of the most challenging conversations with people is how they want to live and to die. Hospice has been providing a supportive environment for end of life for decades.
Fun Fact:
Forty years after graduating as a Registered Nurse, Jeannie can’t imagine a better profession for her!
Larry Gunn
Colfax
Larry was born in Colfax – not in a hospital, but in a midwife’s house. Larry went through grade school and graduated high school in Colfax. After high school, Larry went to Columbia Basin Junior College on a basketball scholarship, majoring in agriculture. Larry transferred to EWSC on a basketball scholarship in his junior year and graduated with a dual major in sociology and education. From 1963-1969 Larry served in the Washington Army National Guard. Larry intended to be in the education profession, but got sidetracked into farming – for forty years! He retired from farming for himself in 2006, but continues to work for other farmers.
Larry lives with his wife, Emily, outside of Colfax. Larry has been on the board of directors for Friends of Hospice since 2009.
Fun Fact:
Larry still operates his own family garage: Dad’s Garage, (Always open, 24 hours), Free oil changes, Fatherly advice, (Priceless).
Staff
Nikki Nolt, Executive Director
Nikki has been dedicated to serving others through her work in healthcare for the last 10+ years. She earned her bachelor’s degree in business administration from Eastern Washington and moved quickly into the healthcare setting serving as a Recruitment Coordinator for the local blood center, then transitioning to the role of Volunteer Coordinator at Pullman Regional Hospital. It was at Pullman Regional Hospital that Nikki discovered her passion to serve patients and families at end-of-life. When the opportunity arose for her to become involved with Friends of Hospice, she was excited to serve her community in this impactful way.
Fun Fact:
Nikki has 3 little girls that keep her on her toes! When not serving patients and families you can find her helping in their classrooms, shuttling them to dance class, enjoying the library activities or watching sporting events.
Collegues
Friends of Hospice would like to gratefully acknowledge the contribution and participation of the following people:
Wills & Associates, PLLC
Certified Public Accountants
Irwin Myklebust Savage and Brown, PS
Attorneys at Law