Remembering UNMC treasure Leni Rauschenberg

Leni Rauschenberg served as an office associate at the Olson Center for Women’s Health for 17 years on her last tour along her 45 years at UNMC.

And her colleagues describe that time as a remarkable 17 years, in which she became a goodwill ambassador for the Olson Center and the entire UNMC Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Rauschenberg brought caring, kindness and warmth, along with humility and gratitude, to her job and her many interactions at the Olson Center, leaving a memorable impact on the people who knew her.

Rauschenberg died on Aug. 2 at the age of 99. A celebration of life will be held Sunday, Aug. 24, from 1-4 p.m. at Lakeside Hills Apartment Community Center, 17040 Frances St. in Omaha. Her family invites Rauschenberg’s UNMC friends and colleagues to attend.

“Leni was a cherished presence at the Olson Center for Women’s Health for 17 remarkable years,” said Lana Molczyk, manager for the Olson Women’s Health Resource Center. “Behind every project and event, her meticulous precision, thoughtful insight and caring nature quietly brought our work to life.

“Long after her retirement, I have still been asked how she was doing – she was still missed.”

Molczyk recalled that she gave Rauschenberg the office associate job when she stopped by the Olson Center to simply say “hi.”

At the time, Rauschenberg was finishing a contracted role with the pulmonary department when she decided to visit the center. One of her previous short-term roles had been at the Women’s Health Resource Center.

Her 45 years at UNMC also included 16 years in the microbiology laboratory from 1970 to 1986. She performed quality control testing of culture media in the lab, continuing in that role until the then-Medical Microbiology Department merged with the Pathology Department.

Prior to that, Rauschenberg worked for the oil company Saudi Aramco in Saudi Arabia from 1959 to 1969. She worked in health care facilities in Saudi Arabia that the company provided for its employees and their families.

“This provided an opportunity to travel to many parts of the world which I would never have been able to do otherwise,” Rauschenberg said in a 2014 feature on her in UNMC Today.

A child of German immigrants, Rauschenberg was originally from Winona, Minnesota, born in the U.S. in 1926.

“I marvel at all of the changes that have taken place during my lifetime,” she said in 2014, “the growth of our city, many new kinds of technology, the development of electronics and space travel.”

At the Olson Center, Rauschenberg made all the packets for education events, maintained the educational materials within the resource center and the Olson Center clinic and handled many additional clerical duties, Molczyk said.

“She truly was a golden treasure,” Molczyk said, “and her absence is deeply felt by all of us who were lucky enough to know her.”

Carl Smith, MD, professor with the UNMC Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and former chair of the department, said Rauschenberg was unfailingly polite and cheerful and treated everyone with kindness and grace. Dr. Smith described her as “like the grandmother that everyone wished they had.”

“Leni was one of those few people that lifted your spirits and made you feel better after every interaction,” Dr. Smith said.

He added, “The world is a better place because of people like Leni and is diminished with her passing.”

Richard Blum, administrator for the UNMC Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, said Rauschenberg was one of the kindest people he’s ever met – “one of those people you meet who makes you want to be a better person.”

Both Blum and Dr. Smith remembered Rauschenberg for the simple thank you cards she often sent people.

Said Blum, “Since she left UNMC, we have missed her compassion for others, her thoughtfulness and her daily example about how to treat people and about what is really important in life.

“Leni will certainly be missed by all who were lucky enough to know her.”