Karin Alaniz, nurse educator who started children's asthma camp, dies at 76

When Karin Alaniz endowed a scholarship at the University of Minnesota nursing school after she became sick in 2015, she said she was grateful to have the opportunity to work with undergraduate students.

"Teaching and mentoring have been my passion. To me it wasn't work," she said. "It has been a pleasure and honor to be able to contribute to the next generation."

Alaniz taught at the school's nursing school for more than 35 years, taking an interest in pediatrics, human growth and development. She also co-founded a preschool camp for children with asthma staffed by undergraduate nursing students.

Alaniz, 76, died of complications from brain cancer April 30 at the Waters senior care facility in Edina. Even with her illness, she lived independently and went out for lunch and a trip to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum on her most recent birthday, said her son, Lee, of Playa Vista, Calif.

"Many of her older students reached out to her when they learned she was sick," he said. "After students graduated, they would stop by and see her when they were in town. They were connected through life."

Brianna Bloedorn was awarded one of Alaniz's scholarships. In a letter of appreciation to Alaniz, Bloedorn described the impact of one of her classes.

"It was your enthusiasm, true interest in our everyday lives and the overwhelming care you showed for us that made you one of the most significant professors I have had," she wrote.

She earned an undergraduate nursing degree from the University of Wisconsin and master's and doctoral degrees from the University of Minnesota. Cancer suddenly hit Alaniz in 2014, but she was in remission for several years, her son said.

A strong commitment to lifelong fitness kept her healthy through her illness, and she was very fit for her age, he said.

Besides her teaching responsibilities, Alaniz served as the adviser for the state Nursing College Board for decades and on a variety of University of Minnesota committees. As a board member of the state's American Lung Association, she helped start the children's asthma camp.

In 1999 she received one of the first University of Minnesota Community Service Awards for her work with children with asthma. She also was among the first university nursing educators to receive the international DAISY Foundation award in 2011 for her commitment to the nursing profession and her inspirational influence on its students.

Following her scholarship endowment, Alaniz was honored with the university's Alumni Service Award. Her son said she was very humble and a people person.

She became one of the first residents of the Waters about five years ago. She was a lifelong Wisconsin and Minnesota college sports fan.

Alaniz told her family that some of the favorite events in her life included meeting President John Kennedy and his wife Jacqueline Kennedy while in high school in Tomah, Wis., and getting Dick Clark's autograph at the American Bandstand show in Philadelphia. She also traveled to Ireland, Scotland, Great Britain, Japan, Norway and Paris.

Besides her son Lee, Alaniz is survived by another son, Brad, of Rhode Island. Services were held Friday at Lakewood Memorial Chapel in Minneapolis.