Lisa Proctor was a woman who refused to call in sick.

The WKU nursing instructor of eight years died at her home Friday. She was 53 years old.

Proctor graduated from the WKU nursing program with both her undergraduate and graduate degrees before returning as an instructor.

“Her family and friends all said that teaching at WKU was her life,” said Mary Bennett, director of the School of Nursing in an email. “She was incredibly patient with new students and would sit for hours in the training lab helping a student practice skills until they felt comfortable enough to do the skills on a real patient at the hospital.”

Bennett said despite illness or fatigue, Proctor would continue working.

“Last week one faculty member noticed Lisa looked tired and tried to get her to go home. She offered to do Lisa’s fundamentals lab for her but Lisa refused,” Bennett recalled. “At the funeral Lisa’s husband told me he tried to get her to call in sick last Tuesday but she had said ‘I am not calling in sick, I’ll call in dead.’

For those of us who knew Lisa, we can almost hear her saying that. We will all do our best to carry on now without her, because we know that is what she would be doing if she were still here.”

Lynnita Glass, an advising associate at the South Campus nursing program, said Proctor always went above and beyond, giving of herself whenever she could.

“She was extremely hardworking and concerned about the welfare of everyone,” Glass said in an email. “She always went beyond the call of duty to assist others and give her support.”

Kacy Harris, associate professor of nursing, worked with Proctor for over six years. Harris said she was more than just a colleague — she was a friend.

“If you knew Lisa for very long, you quickly learned that she worked hard to care for others and do her job excellently,” Harris said. “She was an outstanding instructor and nurse holding high expectations and always had a way of saying things that would make you laugh.”

A service for Proctor was held Sunday at J.C. Kirby & Son Funeral Chapel.