BEVERLY ELAINE HACKETT

1948 - 2016

Beverly Hackett, 67, a longtime resident of the Imperial Valley passed away Thursday, March 10 in Encinitas, CA. Beverly Elaine Hackett was born in Temple, Texas on April 13, 1948 and was raised into adulthood along the Jersey Shore. She moved to Long Beach, California in 1973 and began studying at Long Beach City College to become an Emergency Medical Technician. After marrying Michael Hackett in Long Beach, Elaine moved her family to the Imperial Valley and worked as a nursing assistant/EMT at Calexico Hospital and continued her formal education at Imperial Valley College. When her husband was assigned duties as a resident deputy sheriff in Salton City, Elaine joined the Salton Community Services District Fire-Rescue Department as a Firefighter/EMT. She was promoted several times and was appointed as the Fire Chief the first full time salaried female Fire Chief in the nation! Elaine served as Fire Chief for approximately two years and resigned to pursue her lifelong dream of becoming a registered nurse. Elaine continued classes at IVC while working as a Dispatcher for the El Centro Police Department, graduating with honors in the Nursing Department in 1988. After becoming a licensed Registered Nurse, Elaine began working at Pioneers Memorial Hospital, where she discovered her calling in trauma nursing. After several years in the Emergency Room, Elaine was recruited by the Nursing Department of IVC to become a nursing instructor. At IVC Elaine taught a number of classes including medical terminology, phlebotomy, and classroom and clinical nursing. In addition to traditional nursing instruction, Elaine was also asked to become a Paramedic Preceptor to mentor and train paramedic students in the hospital setting. A large number of the paramedics working in the Valley today were her students at Pioneers Memorial Hospital, as are many of the nurses caring for Valley residents. After moving to Oceanside when her husband retired from the Sheriffs Office, Elaine continued training paramedics each summer and watching their graduation each December with a tremendous pride. While emergency medicine was her calling, one of her greatest pleasures was horsemanship. Elaine bred, trained and rode horses in the desert, with local cattlemen, in parades and in competitions such as dressage. She began her own horse ranch, Mameluke Arabians, breeding, training and selling beautiful and strong horses. Additionally, Elaine participated in rodeo events and won several championship buckles in the All Police Rodeo Association. After moving to Oceanside, Elaine took up art and began painting with pastels and associating with a close circle of artist friends who laughingly refer to themselves as the AFG. She was successful and won numerous awards for her portraits of people and animals. Her art has been on display in several venues in Northern San Diego County. Continuing her lifetime of commitment to public health and safety, Elaine volunteered as a trauma nurse with San Diego Countys Emergency Medical Alert Network, serving on several occasions to provide skilled nursing services to county residents. She is survived by her husband of 41 years, Michael Hackett; her son Eric Hackett of El Centro; daughter, Erin DeCecco of Oceanside; grandchildren Kristin DeCecco, Michael DeCecco, Griffin Trudell, and Grayson Hackett; and her mother, Charlene Fretwell of San Marcos. She was predeceased by her brother Tom Fretwell of Arkansas and her sister Carol Fretwell of Imperial. A celebration of life will be held at Frye Chapel and Mortuary, 799 Brawley Ave., Brawley on April 2, 2016 at 1 p.m. and a reception at Assaggio Restaurant, 595 W. Main St., Brawley immediately afterwards. Inurnment will take place in a private ceremony at Miramar National Cemetery.