Enfield Family Invites Blood Donors To Honor Two Lives

ENFIELD, CT — A memorial blood drive will honor longtime Enfield school nurse Patricia “Trisha” Vayda and her daughter, Katie, on Friday, Oct. 23.

The drive is scheduled from noon to 5 p.m. at the Shaker Pines Fire Department, 37 Bacon Road, according to the event flyer shared by Bill Vayda. State Rep. John Santanella also shared the invitation.

Trisha died March 25 at Hartford Hospital at age 72. She lived in Enfield from 1976 to 2012 before moving to Windsor Locks, according to her obituary, published in the Journal Inquirer.

Her nursing career began in the emergency department at Middlesex Hospital, followed by St. Francis Hospital. She later worked as a school nurse at Hazardville Memorial Elementary School and Enrico Fermi High School and became Enfield Public Schools’ nursing supervisor, the obituary said.

Katie died after a failed heart transplant in 1996, shortly before she would have started her senior year at Enfield High School, according to Bill Vayda’s announcement.

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Trisha’s service extended beyond the schools. Her obituary lists her involvement with the Enfield Lions Club, the Connecticut Nurses Honor Guard and the board of the CT North Central Health District.

In the obituary’s online guest book, Maria Whelden, who said she volunteered with Trisha for 10 years, wrote: “Trish truly had a heart full of service to others.”

The family is asking residents to donate blood in their memory.

To make an appointment, visit the American Red Cross donation scheduling page or use the Red Cross Blood Donor app. Enter the sponsor code IHO Katie and Trisha Vayda to find the drive, according to the flyer.

For more Northern Connecticut news, follow Patch editor Jay Kenney.