By Dawn Marks
The Oklahoman (Oklahoma City, OK)
Copyright 2006 The Oklahoman, All Rights Reserved
EDMOND, Okla. — All high schools and middle schools in the Edmond district now have new life-saving equipment thanks to a donation in memory of a former graduate.
A $6,000 donation from Edmond resident Valerie Hoke in memory of her mother, Jerre Hirzel, allowed the district to put defibrillators in all three high schools, said Randy Decker, executive director of personnel for the district.
Hoke’s gift helped a previous donation from Edmond Medical Center and OU Physicians go even further, Decker said.
“It helped us spread them down to the middle schools,” Decker said.
In April, district officials announced that Edmond Medical Center and OU Physicians would purchase 14 defibrillators for the district. The device, which is in a neon green case, administers an electric shock to the heart to restore a normal heartbeat.
Those defibrillators are installed at various places around the district and employees have been trained to use them, Decker said. Officials are now working to raise money so that all elementary schools can have defibrillators.
Hoke said she got the idea for the donation after Edmond Santa Fe High School student Zachary Thomas Eckles, died in January. Eckles, 17, collapsed on the soccer field and an assistant coach tried to revive him using CPR until paramedics arrived.
Hoke said her mother, who died in December 2004, was a Edmond High School graduate and dedicated sports fan. Hirzel became a big fan of all three high schools’ teams later, Hoke said.
“She loved everything about high school sports,” Hoke said. “She watched all she could.”
Hirzel worked at Tinker Air Force Base and later opened Jerre’s Ceramics, which was known for its ceramic bulldogs, the Edmond High School mascot.
Her dedication to the school continued after it was renamed Edmond Memorial High School, Hoke said. Hirzel served as an officer for the Edmond High School Alumni Association for many years, she said.