Gertrude Ivey Woods, 78, psychiatric nurse

Gertrude Ivey Woods, 78, of Exton, who retired in 1997 as a psychiatric nurse after 23 years at the Coatesville VA Medical Center, died of lung cancer on Sunday, Aug. 12, at Chester County Hospital in West Chester.

In her later years at Coatesville, Mrs. Woods focused on posttraumatic stress disorders and, in 1994, earned the Hand and Heart Award from the VA Medical Center, her son Gregory said.

Born in Waycross, Ga., Mrs. Woods hoped to be a physician but was persuaded that a less difficult path for an African American in the South might be nursing, her son said.

After graduating from the Lamar School of Nursing in Augusta, Ga., in 1955, Mrs. Woods earned a bachelor's degree in nursing from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1960.

At various times from 1955 to 1964, she was a teacher and nurse for the Chicago Board of Education and a staff nurse at the Illinois Psychiatric Institute in Chicago.

In 1969-70, she was a nursing instructor at Malcolm X City College in Chicago.

While raising her children, she earned a master's degree in nursing at what is now St. Xavier University in Chicago in 1972 and received its distinguished nursing alumni award in 1986, her son said.

From 1974 to 1982, she was a clinical supervisor at Coatesville, which included being chairperson of nursing committees.

From 1976 to 1979, she trained as a therapist at the Institute for Transactional Analysis and Gestalt in Philadelphia.

In the mid-1980s, she made presentations about posttraumatic stress disorder patients at conferences in Cleveland and Denver, her son said.

In 1987, she discussed the value of dream work therapy for PTSD at a conference at the Northport, N.Y. Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

In recent years, Mrs. Woods was a volunteer at the agency known as Adult Care of Chester County.

A board member of the former Chester County Department of Mental Health/Mental Retardation, she was a member of the Association of Christian Counselors.

She was a member of Sigma Theta Tau, the honor society of nursing; the Women's League of Minority Education; and the Neighbors Club and Jack & Jill, both of Chester County.

In addition to her son Gregory, she is survived by son Gerald; daughters Carolyn Woods and Celestine Woods Wright; and two granddaughters. Her husband, George III, died in 2010.

The funeral was set for 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 18, at St. Paul's Church, 1105 E. Lincoln Highway, Exton.