For her dedication to the children of Williams Elementary, Nancy Nowak was honored May 8 at the Houston Chronicle’s Salute to Nurses luncheon.

Sponsored by CHI St. Luke’s Health and Houston Methodist Hospital System, the luncheon honored the top 100 nurses in the Houston area.

Nowak, who is retiring at the end of the school year, is the only nurse Williams has ever had, arriving on campus when it opened in 1985.

“To keep from crying, I tell the students I finally passed the (assessment test) and I am moving on,” Nowak said.

A Williams parent nominated “Nurse Nancy,” in large part for the care Nowak has shown her diabetic son.

“My biggest worry was being away from my child while working,” said Dee Bailey in her nomination. ”Nurse Nancy was the nurse that made this transitional period easier.”

Bailey described Nowak as a dependable, loyal and devoted nurse.

“Every time I visit the school, she is walking the halls assisting children with finding their way to class, tending to minor children injuries or helping a clinic with an array of medical needs,” Bailey wrote.