Nurse Greta’s Successful Journey
Greta Pardue at the recent 40th gala celebration of the North Texas Asian American Cultural Association in Irving, Texas, August 2026. (Photo courtesy of Greta Pardue.)
Nightingale’s words inspired Pardue to become a nurse, following in the footsteps of her older sister, Gloria Boac Ilagan. Like Ilagan, Pardue’s journey at the University of Santo Tomas (UST) began with modest means.
With her father working as an engineer and her mother as a market vendor, Pardue grew up with humility, which she has carried through every stage of her life. From the streets of Baguio City, where she spent her happy childhood, to (UST) College of Nursing, where her leadership skills began to take shape, and to every hospital where she has worked in the Philippines and Texas, she has stayed the course.
Pardue has left a lasting mark on the nurses she has mentored, led, and inspired to “be the best they can be.”
“The manang (housemother) at the nursing dormitory would ask the graduating nurses for their old uniforms to give to the incoming nurses who didn’t have the means to buy more uniforms,” Pardue said. “My sister was graduating, and I got her old uniforms. And I only had one pair of stockings, which I hand-washed every night and dried by the electric fan.”
Pardue said that during her five years as a student at one of the most prestigious universities in Asia, she never owned a single textbook. Instead, she practically “lived in the library, where she would study every night ’til it closed.”
Growing Up Poor
As Pardue recounted her life, she described growing up poor, “making do with what little we have, studying harder, having faith in God and finding joy in small things.”
Finding joy in small things meant, for example, that when the family moved to a Manila suburb and their house had no plumbing, Pardue and her siblings would fetch water for drinking, cooking, and washing dishes from an artesian well around the corner.
And yet, life, as Pardue sees it, is a splendid gift. After graduating in 1973, she worked for a year at Notre Dame Hospital in Baguio City before moving to UST Pay Hospital in 1974, where she served as head nurse in the operating room.
With no plans to go abroad, Pardue accompanied friends to a recruiting agency in Makati. But the chief executive officer of Granville Morton Hospital in Dallas invited her for an interview and, much to her surprise, offered her a job on the spot. In that unexpected moment, new possibilities began to emerge. Working in the United States, once a distant dream, was now becoming a reality.
Journey Begins
Greta B. Pardue (front row, far left) and Alice D. Decker (second row, far right, standing) are pictured in 1975 upon their arrival in Dallas, Texas, at the Granville Morton Hospital with their nursing colleagues. (Photo courtesy of Alice D. Decker)
In January 1975, Pardue’s journey began, and her dreams started to materialize. There were 20 nurses in that first group, and Alice Dometiza Decker was among those who traveled with Pardue.
Decker still clearly remembers the cold morning when they arrived at the newly constructed Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) International Airport.
“The first group arrived in January 1975 very early in the morning,” she said. “I believe it was 5 a.m. The DFW Airport was so brand new.”
From the airport, Decker said, hospital staff took them directly to the hospital. “Everything looked big, fresh and bright,” Decker said. “It was a big hospital, with new equipment, automated blood pressure machines, big and beautiful rooms.”
Unlike Decker’s, Pardue’s employment at Granville Morton would be cut short.
“One of my first patients was Martha Jo Pardue, who requested me to be her nurse,” Greta said. “Martha Jo had a son, Craig, who at that time was a Baylor University journalism student.”
On the Move
Craig and Greta fell in love, married six months after they met, and moved to Austin. While Craig worked as a committee clerk in the Texas Legislature, Greta found a job as a charge nurse in Seton Hospital’s cardiovascular unit.
Bigger opportunities came, and she moved to St. David’s Medical Center, where she served as head nurse in the treatment room, which would later become the emergency department.
“I was privileged to plan and build St. David’s first emergency department,” Greta said. “My team and I built and designed that department.”
But the desire to return to Dallas never left the couple. Craig spotted a job in the classified ads of the Austin American-Statesman, and that was all they needed. They left Austin and moved back to Dallas, rebuilding their lives all over again, this time with a toddler in their arms.
Craig became the director of government services at the Dallas County office, while Greta worked as the director of ambulatory services at Gaston Episcopal Hospital until the facility was acquired by Baylor University Medical Center, now Baylor Scott & White Health.
Decker and Greta’s paths would cross again. At Baylor, Greta was appointed manager of the Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Department. Her leadership responsibilities continued to expand when she was appointed nurse leader in launching the first intensivist program, caring for the sickest patients admitted directly from the emergency department to their unit.
Greta B. Pardue (left) and Alice D. Decker are shown at the FILCON board meeting in July. (Photo by Jocelyn Alvarez Allgood)
“UST nurses were trained as leaders,” she said. “UST nurses have the presence.”
As the years passed and the Filipino population grew in North Texas, opportunities began to unfold. After 17 years at Baylor, Greta was invited by an assistant chief nursing officer at Medical City Dallas to become a nurse educator. The hospital developed a two-step plan to recruit employees and appointed Greta program coordinator.
The hospital partnered with two community colleges in the Metroplex, and Greta was considered a faculty member at both, teaching recruits to become future registered nurses. The hospital paid the students’ tuition and book expenses in exchange for their commitment to work at Medical City for two years. Many of the students who left after their contracts ended went on to become administrators at the hospitals where they worked, and Greta carries their success quietly and internally.
“Don’t underestimate yourself,” she said. “You never know the impact you have in other people’s lives.”
More Focused Purpose
That impact took on a more focused purpose when, in the early 2000s, she heard that a “Filipino nurse committed suicide because she was being investigated by the Texas Board of Nursing.” The news hit Greta hard. She reached out to the Philippine Nurses Association of America and went on to establish the Philippine Nursing Association of America – North Texas (PNANT) Chapter in 2001. She served as its first president while gathering members and shaping its mission for the future.
“Nurses need representation,” she said. “It was really sad that there was no organization that could have helped her.”
Today, PNANT stands strong and is considered one of the most active chapters in the community and the country.
“I think that’s the seed that was planted for me,” Greta said. “To basically be able to support other nurses not only in that sad situation but also celebrate them for their contributions in the community.”
As Pardue recounted her life, she described growing up poor, “making do with what little we have, studying harder, having faith in God and finding joy in small things.”
From Medical City Dallas, Greta became program coordinator at Medical City Lewisville, leading the hospital’s preparations for Magnet status. From there, she was hired by Texas Health Resources (THR) as one of its educators. She traveled to THR hospitals across North Texas to mentor new nurses and prepare them for full clinical readiness. She currently works at THR in Plano, her last stop as she prepares for retirement in 2027. In her 53 years in the profession, Greta witnessed health care change from paper to electronic charting, from heavy textbooks to digital searches, and from guiding new graduates to celebrating the success of her own mentees. “I have cherished the joy of sharing knowledge and seeing others grow and get to be in the position to love nursing,” Greta said. “Knowledge impacts healing practice.” Greta B. Pardue (center, sitting) and FILCON board members (from left) Galileo Jumaoas, Emelda Valcarcel, Alice Decker (standing, third from left), Sally Phillips, Madonna Bennett, Myrna Carreon and Tess Gabay are shown at the board meeting in July (Photo courtesy of Emelda Valcarcel). Her life has also changed dramatically. In 2024, after 48 years of marriage, Craig passed away from angiosarcoma. As she has extended her leadership into the Filipino community, her presence continues to strengthen the community and give Filipinos a voice amid the changing demographics of North Texas. Greta currently serves as president of the Filipino Leaders Coalition of North Texas (FILCON), an organization founded in 2018 by community leaders Gus and Ethel Mercado. FILCON proudly presents the annual celebration of Philippine Independence, preserves Philippine culture, and shares the nation’s heritage with the North Texas community. At each annual festival, Greta leads with quiet strength, supported by the original officers, including Decker. Decker, whose life has intersected with Greta’s in many ways, now serves as FILCON’s secretary. The parallels in their careers have kept them crossing paths for decades as two women committed to “service with purpose,” often arriving at the same place at the same time. Both have received the prestigious DFW Great 100 Nurses award. “We are now at the stage of our lives where we are focused on retirement,” Decker said. “Volunteerism is now our passion. Service to others and giving back to the community is now our life's mission.” As Greta prepares to leave her beloved profession, she reflects on the decades that have shaped her into the leader she is today. “Education is important in life,” she said. “It lifts us from poverty.” Jocelyn Alvarez Allgood is a freelance writer from Sanger, TX. More articles from Jocelyn Alvarez AllgoodDramatic Changes
No comments: