Dorothy Ann DeNiro (Nejedlo) RN, Ph.D.

Dorothy Ann DeNiro (Nejedlo) passed away on February 2, 2024, in Pueblo, CO, at the age of 83. Dorothy Ann is survived by her loving husband of sixty-two years, Rocco DeNiro, her son Stephen DeNiro, daughter Susan (Brian) Weber, grandchildren Ian, Shane, Jordan, Alexander, Austin, and great granddaughter, Kairi. She is predeceased by her parents, Andrew and Virginia Nejedlo, and her son, Richard DeNiro. A Funeral Mass will be held at 9:45 am on Saturday, March 23, 2024, at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Pueblo, CO. A Rosary will take place on Monday, March 25, at 1:00pm at Roselawn Chapel, followed by Inurnment at 2:00pm. In lieu of flowers donations can be made in Dorothy's name to The Mercy Center, 1439 N. Chestnut St, Colorado Springs, CO, 80907 Born on August 25, 1940 in Green Bay, WI, Dorothy was the oldest of eight children. Dorothy came to Pueblo, CO after she graduated from high school to attend the St. Mary Corwin Hospital Nursing Program. Upon graduation Dorothy began her nursing career at St. Mary Corwin on the medical ward. Dorothy had discovered her passion for nursing and earned the position of head nurse of the psychiatric ward even before she had received her board grades. Dorothy served a short stint at Parkview Hospital until St. Mary Corwin called her “to come back where she belonged”. She worked there until moving to the Colorado State Hospital where she worked for the next 33 years. While at the State Hospital, Dorothy earned her Masters Degree of Nursing from the University of Austin, TX. With her advanced degree, Dorothy added psychodrama and family therapy programming to her work as a ward nurse. In 1979, Dorothy became the Director of Nursing and in 1984 she began her doctoral program at the University of Texas. After five summers, while still working full time, Dorothy earned her doctoral degree. When Dorothy was 59, and after building an outstanding functional structure at the State Hospital, she retired. In 1993, Dorothy began teaching clinicals for Beth-EL College of Nursing. She taught hundreds of nursing students over the next 12 years until she was asked to develop a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner program at Colorado State University – Pueblo. She worked at CSU-P from 2008 to 2015 when she retired for good in order to enjoy the many activities she loved. Throughout her career, Dorothy met and worked with many wonderful individuals who imprinted on her life and impacted her greatly. Dorothy had a long and illustrious nursing career and was inducted into the Colorado Nurses Association Hall of Fame in 2006. Dr. Dorothy DeNiro’s education began with a diploma at St. Mary Corwin School of Nursing in Pueblo, Colorado. She eventually achieved a BS in Behavioral Science, then an MSN and PhD from the University of Texas, Austin, where she studied under Hildegarde Peplau. She used Peplau’s writings as a bias for teaching counseling skills to nurses throughout North America. Her entire nursing career has been dedicated to nurses, nursing education and patients in Pueblo and southeast Colorado. During her 21-year tenure as the Director of Nursing at the Colorado Mental Health Institute of Colorado (CMHIP), she developed many innovative programs for working with patients with mental health issues. Because of her efforts, CMHIP was named the best state hospital in the United States by the Public Citizen Health Research Group and National Alliance for the Mentally Ill in 1988. She initiated a Scholarship fund at CSU-Pueblo to assist nursing students attending the BSN program. In a creative innovation, designed to assure a better trained and fully staffed nursing department, she developed a program to allow nurses to work 20 hours, attend nursing school 20 hours, and be paid full time. An MS program in Psychiatric Nursing, in coordination with University of Colorado School of Nursing, was developed during her tenure. She has supervised psychiatric clinical student rotations. At the state of Colorado level, she worked to develop job descriptions and competencies for nursing and nursing support positions. Having been a member of the Colorado Nurses Association since 1973, Dr. DeNiro had been active at the local district level and the Colorado Society of Clinical Specialists in Psychiatric Nursing (DNA 31) level. She felt her most important contribution to nursing was bringing individuals together in unique ways to further the professional goals of nursing. In 1987, Dorothy was recognized as an Outstanding Woman by the USC-Pueblo Outstanding Women Awards. In 2011, Dr. DeNiro received the Robert Hawkins Award for Excellence in Mental Health Leadership and Advocacy. In 2012, Dr. DeNiro received a President’s medallion and was honored by Dr. Lesley Di Mare, President, Colorado State University-Pueblo for her distinguished alumni achievement and Dr. DeNiro also received the Nightingale Award for Excellence in Human Caring. In her retirement, Dorothy continued to participate in Rotary and choir practice. Rocky and Dorothy attended Sunday services at St. Charles Community at St. Ann’s Church on Pueblo’s east side and the couple enjoyed spending time every year in Maui and Phoenix along with an occasional cruise. One of Rocky’s students, Mario, took the pair on annual excursions to Aspen for the musical festival, to Notre Dame in Indiana and to many concerts, always staying in stylish hotels. He treated Rocky like a loved father. Dorothy and Rocky kept up their Italian tradition of having a fish dinner on Christmas Eve for many years, even though their meal consisted of four fish instead of the traditional eleven. They would eat sardines with spaghetti and cod fish, broiled or baked. Easter was celebrated with a fancy breakfast cooked for the church by Willie Gaye, Southern Classic Cuisine. Birthdays and Anniversaries were always special and celebrated at their home in Rye. Dorothy Ann DeNiro will be dearly missed by all who knew her, and her memory will live on in the hearts of her family and friends.

Dorothy Ann DeNiro (Nejedlo) RN, Ph.D.

August 25, 1940 - February 2, 2024