OBITUARIES & MEMORIALS
Rocky Mountain News
Thursday, January 8, 2004
HACKER , CAROL L., Ph.D. Carol L. Hacker , Ph.D. died on December 17, 2003. She was born February 4, 1940 in Colorado Springs to Alice (R.N.) and Harry J. Figge .
Carol dedicated her life to helping others and became a prominent figure throughout Colorado in the field of crisis response. Early in her career, she worked as a counselor at Columbine High School, where she helped to develop one of the first peer counseling programs in the state. Along with her counseling work, Carol became well known throughout the Jefferson County School District as she initiated and directed the Employee Assistance Program over a period of thirteen years.
After earning her doctorate in Counseling Psychology at the University of Colorado in Boulder,Carol also utilized her skills to assist many victims of such national, high profile tragedies as the Oklahoma City bombing, the Columbine High School shootings and the September 11 disaster. She improved thousands of lives through her work as a professor at the University of Colorado Denver, through presentations at fifteen national conferences, and through her leadership work with numerous support groups. Carol also developed a training program, designed to help other professionals deal with `compassion fatigue.' It was presented frequently and received enthusiastically by the employees at Excelsior Youth Center, one of many organizations Carol generously supported over the years. Most recently, Carol was called upon to train clergy around the country working with survivors of the September 11 crisis.
An avid volunteer, Carol provided endless hours helping women at The Gathering Place raise money through the sale of handmade cards. She also co-chaired the silent auction to provide a scholarship program offered by the Colorado Organization for Victim Assistance. Additionally, Carol was an active member of the St. Paul Lutheran Church, serving on numerous committees, assisting those in need. Fittingly, in recognition of her invaluable work with a myriad organizations, several chose to create awards which bear her name. Some of these include: COVA's annual award for volunteerism; the EAP Professionals Association's scholarship award; the Association of Traumatic Stress Specialists scholarship award. Along with Carol 's other contributions, her written work on trauma response can be found in 22 publications.
She is survived by the following family members: sister, Dorthea (Bob) Wilson, niece, Sarah (Mike) Rolfs; nephew, Michael Wilson; sister, Elizabeth (Gene) Ridener, nephew John Ridener; nephews MIchael, Donald, Stephen and William Hedges.
Services will be held on Sunday, January 11 at St. Paul Lutheran Church located at 16th and Grant beginning at 2:30 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, Carol and her family have requested that a donation be made to one of the following charities or the charity of one's personal choosing: The Gathering Place - 1535 High St, Denver,CO 80218; COVA - 789 Sherman St, Suite 670, Denver, CO 80203; Excelsior Youth Center - 15001 E. Oxford Ave, Aurora, CO 80013; St Paul's Lutheran Church - 1600 Grant St, Denver, CO 80203; Lutheran Family Services - 363 S Harlan #200, Denver, CO 80226; Lutheran Disaster Response - 8765 W Higgins Rd, Chicago, IL 60631; Family Tree Crisis Services - 3805 Marshall St, Suite 100, Wheatridge, CO 80033; EAP Professionals Association's scholarship program; Association of Traumatic Stress Specialists scholarship program.
Carol dedicated her life to helping others and became a prominent figure throughout Colorado in the field of crisis response. Early in her career, she worked as a counselor at Columbine High School, where she helped to develop one of the first peer counseling programs in the state. Along with her counseling work, Carol became well known throughout the Jefferson County School District as she initiated and directed the Employee Assistance Program over a period of thirteen years.
After earning her doctorate in Counseling Psychology at the University of Colorado in Boulder,Carol also utilized her skills to assist many victims of such national, high profile tragedies as the Oklahoma City bombing, the Columbine High School shootings and the September 11 disaster. She improved thousands of lives through her work as a professor at the University of Colorado Denver, through presentations at fifteen national conferences, and through her leadership work with numerous support groups. Carol also developed a training program, designed to help other professionals deal with `compassion fatigue.' It was presented frequently and received enthusiastically by the employees at Excelsior Youth Center, one of many organizations Carol generously supported over the years. Most recently, Carol was called upon to train clergy around the country working with survivors of the September 11 crisis.
An avid volunteer, Carol provided endless hours helping women at The Gathering Place raise money through the sale of handmade cards. She also co-chaired the silent auction to provide a scholarship program offered by the Colorado Organization for Victim Assistance. Additionally, Carol was an active member of the St. Paul Lutheran Church, serving on numerous committees, assisting those in need. Fittingly, in recognition of her invaluable work with a myriad organizations, several chose to create awards which bear her name. Some of these include: COVA's annual award for volunteerism; the EAP Professionals Association's scholarship award; the Association of Traumatic Stress Specialists scholarship award. Along with Carol 's other contributions, her written work on trauma response can be found in 22 publications.
She is survived by the following family members: sister, Dorthea (Bob) Wilson, niece, Sarah (Mike) Rolfs; nephew, Michael Wilson; sister, Elizabeth (Gene) Ridener, nephew John Ridener; nephews MIchael, Donald, Stephen and William Hedges.
Services will be held on Sunday, January 11 at St. Paul Lutheran Church located at 16th and Grant beginning at 2:30 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, Carol and her family have requested that a donation be made to one of the following charities or the charity of one's personal choosing: The Gathering Place - 1535 High St, Denver,CO 80218; COVA - 789 Sherman St, Suite 670, Denver, CO 80203; Excelsior Youth Center - 15001 E. Oxford Ave, Aurora, CO 80013; St Paul's Lutheran Church - 1600 Grant St, Denver, CO 80203; Lutheran Family Services - 363 S Harlan #200, Denver, CO 80226; Lutheran Disaster Response - 8765 W Higgins Rd, Chicago, IL 60631; Family Tree Crisis Services - 3805 Marshall St, Suite 100, Wheatridge, CO 80033; EAP Professionals Association's scholarship program; Association of Traumatic Stress Specialists scholarship program.
