Brunet, Lesley W.

Ornell Balzer was one of the first four nurses to work at M.D. Anderson. She was born in Shaws Bend, near Columbus in central Texas and graduated from the Brackenridge School of Nursing at University of Texas in Austin in 1949. Her career at M.D. Anderson began in 1949. She spent three years at M.D. Anderson before leaving to work in a doctor’s office. In 1960 Ms. Balzer returned to M.D. Anderson as the head nurse during the start of the cancer center and later worked in radiotherapy. She was well-known to many employees at M.D. Anderson and can be seen in photos in the MdGovern Visitors Gallery and in the historical text, “The First Twenty Years of The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute.” Ornell Balzer passed away on October 9, 2005 at the age of 93.

From the guide to the Ornell H. Balzer Oral History Interview 1 Balzer_Ornell_20030904., September 4, 2003, (Historical Resources Center, Research Medical Library, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center)