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THE MESA TRIBUNE | FEBRUARY 20, 2022
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At 88, Mesa nurse at Banner keeps on healin’ BY MONIQUE SELEEN Tribune Contributor
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or Ellie Ucci, age is just a number. At 88, the Mesa woman still works as a postpartum nurse at Banner Gateway Medical Center in Gilbert and has no plans to retire. “I have purpose,” said Ucci. “I don’t come to work for the money. I love what I do.” Ucci’s nursing career dates back to 1954 when, right after graduating high school, she attended a diploma-based program in Chicago, where she was living at the time. “When people asked me what I wanted to be, I’d always say a nurse,” said Ucci. She began working as a psychiatric nurse in a military hospital during the Korean War, where she remained for the first six months of her career. Later, she went back to school to obtain
a dual degree in Nursing and Psychology and moved to Arizona with her husband. Once in Arizona, Ucci worked for Mesa Lutheran Hospital and Mesa Public Schools, gaining experience in the emergency room, labor and delivery, and with high school Ellie Ucci is 88 but she’s nowhere near the end of her nursing career. She is a postpartum nurse at Banner Gateway Medical Center in Gilbert. students at (David Minton/Tribune Staff Photographer) Westwood and over 42 years and started in the postRed Mountain High Schools. She has been with Banner Health for partum unit at Banner Gateway when it
opened in 2007. Ucci, who has three daughters, seven grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren, said she enjoys working with young mothers and getting to see them expand their family. “I give that grandmother image and they tell me they love that I’m taking care of them because it feels like their grandmother is with them,” said Ucci. “They learn from me.” When COVID-19 hit, Ucci said she wasn’t scared. Throughout her years as nurse, she said, she has worked through several epidemics including polio, tuberculosis, meningitis, and the swine flu. “During the Polio outbreak, the only things we really had to protect ourselves were gowns and masks,” said Ucci. “But now, I trust my vaccines and feel like the
Mesa artist expresses passion in many media BY ANNIA ZAVALA Tribune Contributor
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arva Ayoka Harris is one of those rare artists who expresses her passion in many different art forms. The Mesa woman is a painter, creative writer, poet, choreographer and artistic director at Marvalous Productions, a performing arts company she founded in Georgia in 2014 and then relocated to Tempe to produce “shows that speak to the experiences of everyday people, preserve history as well as offer creative stress solutions to individuals and organizations.” She also is the chief cheerleader for the Millet House, an art gallery and community gather space at 440 W. 1st St., Mesa. “I would consider myself primarily an abstract artist because of the freedom, mystery and emotion I feel while painting and beholding this type of art,” she writes on her website. “However, I do not limit myself to one style of art as I am
Marva Ayoka Harris of Mesa is a painter, creative writer, poet, choreographer and artistic director at Marvalous Productions, a performing arts company she founded in Georgia in 2014 and then relocated to Tempe. (Special to the Tribune) ever exploring and ever evolving. I would describe my artistic work style as largely holistic, eclectic and organic.”
Earlier this month, Harris held her annual exhibit of her paintings in honor of Black History Month. She said the exhibit,
see NURSE page 21
titled “The Dreamy Night,” was about “reclaiming of the beautiful color black.” Harris is a passionate artist known for expressing her story, focusing on Black culture, and sharing knowledge through her art. “Sometimes you got to do things even if you’re scared to do them, in fact, because you are,” Harris said. “That’s the most powerful thing about sharing your passion.” She explains on her website, “The subject of my artwork highlights personal experience, experiments with the relationship between colors and holistic therapy, examines movement, energy, frequency waves and flow, as well as exploration of creative ways to dispense paint onto its surface “I can examine how emotion correlates to color, how music influences content and how cultures shape artistic style,” Harris
see HARRIS page 21
