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Lorraine was born in Milwaukee, WI the youngest of five children of William and Anna (Winkowski) Machan. Her siblings were Florence (Charles) Tury, Joseph (Gertrude) Machan, Beatrice (George) Rehse and William J. (Rita) Machan. Her parents and siblings have all preceded her in death. She is survived by eight nieces and nephews and many friends.She received a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing from Marquette University in 1944 followed by a Master’s degree in Biology and Chemistry. She enlisted in the army during World War II serving in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps. She moved to Africa in the early 1950’s and served as a hospital administrator in Uganda in a primitive hospital with one other nurse and a doctor who came once per week. She received a certificate in midwifery form Queen Victoria Hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa. In 1955, she organized and was head of the Zoology department at the University of Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland. In 1961 she returned to the United States and obtained a Ph.D. in Zoology with an emphasis on Physiology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She returned to Africa in 1966 serving as Head of the Zoology department at the University of Borswana, Lesotho and Swaziland in Maseru, Lesotho. She returned to the United States in 1971, joining the Nursing Faculty of Fort Hays Kansas State College and Texas Woman’s University. She returned to Milwaukee in 1975 to care for her ailing father who died in 1979. During this time, she was the Director of the Graduate Program and was on the teaching faculty at Marquette University. She returned once more to Africa in 1980 and was Professor and Head of the Biology department at National University of Lesotho until 1984, when she retired. She lived her retirement years in Krugerville, TX, where she engaged in volunteer work. Lorraine will be remembered for her wit, wisdom, zest for life, laughter, humility, and kindness. She was a gardener, scrabble aficionado piano player, wide-ranging reader, and lover of all plants and animals. Lorraine did everything with gusto and she will be missed. A rosary will be held Thursday, January 5, 2016 at 10:00AM with a visitation following at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in Pilot Point, TX and a Mass of Christian Burial will begin at 11:00AM. Online condolences may be shared at www.slaymemorialfuneralhome.com.Arrangements are under the direction of Terri Slay and Slay Memorial Funeral Center. To send a flower arrangement to the family of Lorraine Machan, please click here to visit our Sympathy Store.

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Lorraine Machan

March 31, 1923 - December 14, 2016