90-year-old Tacoma woman oldest working nurse in America (VIDEO)



TACOMA, Washington --  Florence ‘SeeSee’ Rigney just celebrated her 90th birthday making her the oldest working registered nurse in the U.S.

Coworkers packed the halls of Tacoma General Hospital last week to surprise SeeSee with flowers, a tiara and a special proclamation from Gov. Jay Inslee.

Video of the surprise was captured on camera by a coworker and shared online.



“Just imagine all the changes SeeSee has seen in her life since she graduated from high school — in 1943,” wrote Multicare CEO Bill Robertson.  “Listening to some of the details of the experiences she has had over the course of a wonderful life is inspiring. I have no doubt that her happiness and success in life is related to her appreciative approach to everything that life has presented to her.”

SeeSee graduated from high school in 1943 and then went into nursing school in Tacoma in 1946.  She has worked on and off in nursing, largely in Tacoma, since that time.

“According to her colleagues, SeeSee is a terrific nurse,” wrote Robertson.  “Nowadays she has cut back to just a couple of days a week, but she still pursues her lifelong profession with the same energy, focus and careful execution of her duties that has marked her career across seven decades! And she still inspires those around her.”

SeeSee actually retired once, when she was 67, but that only lasted six months.

So she went back to work to set up operating rooms and help other nurses.

In the video, which has gone wildly viral across the internet, SeeSee actually says she just recertified in CPR so she is good for at least two more years.  But what she does after that only she knows!

Congrats SeeSee!