Joy Dimmermann Skeel

Joy Dimmermann Skeel, R.N., M.Div., passed away March 30. She was born in Cincinnati, OH to Elmer E. Dimmermann and Henrietta H. Dimmermann in 1938. After high school, she attended the University of Cincinnati, pausing her education to marry her high school sweetheart Roland T. Skeel, M.D., then graduating with a BSN in 1961. While living in New Haven, Connecticut prior to moving to Toledo she worked intermittently as a nurse while raising her children, Kristi and Erika. She most loved working as a nurse in the coronary care unit, largely because she discovered a special ability and was sought by staff to work through issues surrounding death and dying. Rev. Skeel decided she wanted to further her education in medical ethics and decided to attend Yale Divinity School in the mid 1970’s. Shortly after graduating from Yale, where she focused her studies heavily on ethics, Rev. Skeel moved to Toledo, OH where her husband had accepted a position at the former Medical College of Ohio (MCO), now the University of Toledo. Rev. Skeel was diverted from her planned career path briefly, serving as interim pastor at Park Congregational Church before advocating to start a medical ethics program for medical students at MCO. She was told that if she could convince the medical students to submit a proposal to the Dean of the College of Medicine, she could start her ethics program. The students did not need much convincing. Rev. Skeel began her new program slowly, starting with an evening elective in her home. She eventually designed an entire bioethics curriculum, including a monthly medical ethics conference in which students presented ethical issues of patients with whom they had worked and then discussed with their colleagues and Rev. Skeel. She was an early adopter of the use of standardized patients to help teach students difficult ethical topics and incorporated religion, culture and spirituality in her teaching. With the development of the medical ethics program, Rev. Skeel, among the first women working in the field, also developed and became director of the medical ethics consultation service at MCO, working to help resolve ethical dilemmas among patients, families, staff, and physicians. She became a well-known expert in medical ethics, speaking at both the national and international levels. Rev. Skeel participated in national and international task forces for the United Church of Christ and the Presbyterian Church examining ethical issues in health care. She was also an ethics consultant to the King Hussein Cancer Center in Amman, Jordan. Prior to coming to Toledo, she was involved with the development of the first Hospice in the United States in New Haven, and was one of the founding signatories of Hospice of Northwest Ohio. She received many awards, including Yale Divinity School’s Distinction in Community Service Alumni Award and the annual award from the Society for Health and Human Values. Rev. Skeel enjoyed playing the piano (often as family members played other instruments or sang along) gardening, baking, and international travel including trips to Italy, Turkey and Egypt. She prepared dessert parties for days in advance with extravagant recipes. No Christmas was complete without several weekends of “all hands on deck” for cookie baking with old family recipes, and Christmas Stollen. Rev. Skeel also enjoyed officiating at events such as marriages, including that of her daughter Erika and grandson Brian and the baptisms of her grandchildren Brian and Joshua, and great-grandchild Cailyn. Rev. Skeel is survived by her daughter Kristi Skeel Williams (George), and their daughter Alexandria; daughter Erika Skeel Tasma, her sons Brian (Paula) and Joshua Tasma and their father Joe Tasma; great-granddaughter Cailyn Tasma; and her former husband Roland Skeel. Due to COVID precautions, a celebration of her life will be postponed until the fall. Special thanks to all those at Hospice who were involved in her care. Those wishing to make a memorial contribution might consider Hospice of Northwest Ohio, the Audubon Puffin Project, or a charity of the donor’s choice.