'Her spirit lives on': Family of late Chicago nurse Nancy Koster donates gifts to her hospital
BARTLETT, Ill. (CBS) -- A family in west-suburban Bartlett is hoping to bring cheer to children and adults at Lurie Children's Hospital.
They're hoping to keep their late mother's memory alive by filling stockings with gifts for patients CBS 2's Shardaa Gray showed us Monday night how one family is giving back this holiday season.
In each of these stockings are gifts specifically made for different age groups.
"We got some fun slime-making kits," said Katelyn Kovac daughter of Nancy Koster.
Created by a family who has a lot of love to give in honor of Nancy Koster, a former Lurie Children's Hospital advanced practice nurse. She passed away suddenly in September of 2016. Her family said she gave her heart and soul to the cardiac team.
"Nancy was always one who thought more of others than herself when it came to family, friends and certainly people at the hospital," said her husband Kevin Koster.
"Anyone who knows Nancy would say she was absolutely brilliant," added Genevieve Frey-Moylan,Lurie Hospital nursing director in cardiac care unit
To keep her name alive, her family and church members make 55 stockings for kids and 55 stockings for adults, all filled with gifts.
"For us to be able to give back, there's a tremendous sense that we're doing what she would want us to do in her absence. Her spirit lives on through these stockings," said Kevin Koster.
The Koster family started this back in 2017, each year taking months to prepare: Hand sewing the stockings and setting up the registry through Amazon on their website.
And each year, the family delivers the gifts to staff at Lurie Children's Hospital. All grateful to see each other. Staff said what makes it even more special is seeing the looks on the patients faces when they get their stockings.
"I've gotten to see the faces on these kids when they wake up on Christmas morning. And there's these amazing stockings filled with everything. It's a pretty special moment," said cardiac care unit nurse Liz Rintz.
"She's still alive here with us and down there at Lurie Children's Hospital," said Kevin Koster.