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•March 2, 2016•

By Nick Fiala
For the News Progress

Decatur Memorial Hospital recently celebrated its 100th anniversary.

The January first date was also a celebration of a Bethany woman who dedicated a significant portion of her time and energy to birthing the establishment a century ago.

Sue Hagaman (1841-1919) was known as “The Mother of the Hospital” by those who took up the task of finishing DMH’s construction after her.

The plans for the project began as early as 1901 with the encouragement of many prominent physicians of central Illinois. Finally, in 1916, she was present to literally turn the first shovel of dirt and witness the laying of the hospital’s cornerstone.

This inspirational effort came after Hagaman had already served for 35 years as a Sunday school teacher at the First Methodist Church of Decatur, as well as raised two biological children and no less than eight adopted orphans.      Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.