Ninalei Bader Poore

Ninalei Bader Poore peacefully passed away on November 13th, 2022, surrounded by her family and her beloved cat, Tita. Her life spanned a transformative time for women, and in her 92 years she devoted herself to the ever-growing demands of education, career, family, community, and to thousands of people in need. The end result: a life shaped by love and punctuated by interludes of adventure, service, and drama worthy of a screenplay.

“Nina” was born in Honolulu, Hawaii on December 12, 1930, to parents Oliver and Thelma Springer Bader. During World War II, the bombing of Pearl Harbor took place while Nina was visiting her grandmother in Fresno, California. The was prevented her from returning home until 1945. Upon returning to Hawaii, she attended and then graduated from Punahou High School in 1948. After attending the University of Hawaii, she completed her nursing training at the University of Virginia in 1952. She then joined the Frontier Nursing Service, where she completed training as a nurse midwife. Over the next two years she traveled by horseback between mining camps and hollows in the mountains of eastern Kentucky, delivering more than 300 babies and providing care to woman in need. In December 1955 she met and married Henry Wayne Poore. after dr Poore graduated from the UVA Medical School, they went to the University of Michigan for a residency and then moved to Virgilina, Virginia, to set up a medical practice in that rural community. In 1962, the family moved to Flagstaff, Arizona, where Nina raised 7 children and became a community leader.

After years of private practice, together Nina and Henry opened Flagstaff Urgent Care in 1990—then a new type of health care facility for Flagstaff. From her earliest years, Nina was devoted to providing medical care to those in need on a global scale. She participated in medical missions to Honduras, Mexico, Kenya, and the Navajo Nation. In 2011, Nina (then 81) and Henry founded the Poore Medical Clinic and later the Sid Davis Dental Clinic, which continue to serve the needs of the uninsured citizens of Flagstaff. Nina loved Flagstaff and was an ardent supporter of the arts, youth development, a wide variety of charities, and a multitude of community organizations. She was one of the founding members of “Citizens Against Substance Abuse,” a contribution for which she was recognized by Governor Rose Mofford in 1988, and with the Flagstaff Citizen of the Year award in 1990. Nina received many other awards for her devotion to the community of Flagstaff.

In addition to her community endeavors in Flagstaff, Nina was active in the management of the family’s beef cattle farms in North Carolina and Virginia. Every summer, she and Henry took the kids to work on the farm, where she instilled in her children (and later her grandchildren) the joys of hard work, fresh air and simple pleasures. She and her husband explored America from Alaska’s Arctic Circle to their home on Ocracoke Island, NC where she loved to sit on the dock, swim in the ocean, and eat good food (she loved good food). Nina will always be remembered for her kindness, generosity, adventurous spirit, and dedication to the Flagstaff Community.

She frequently boasted that her greatest joy in life was being the mother of seven children; Beth, Matt, Amy, Mary Jo, Meg, Sara and Sam and the grandmother of 14 grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her grandson Blake Henry Herman and her husband Dr. Henry Wayne Poore. Nina leaves an immense legacy of love, family, and service. A memorial service will be held at the Poore family home at 3005 North Fort Valley Rd on Thursday, November 17 at 10 am. In lieu of flowers, please make donations in her name to the non-profit Poore Medical Clinic and Sid Davis Memorial Dental Clinic.

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