Remembering A Beloved Department Administrator
On Friday, March 27, 2020, Grisel Vazquez, a longtime, beloved senior administrative staff member in the department of medicine, died. She was 67.
![Grisel Vazquez, 1952-2020]()
Grisel Vazquez, 1952-2020
Grisel had retired from Einstein in 2017, after 30 years of service to the department, and had emaliled Dr. Victor Schuster on January 20 to relate: "All is well on my end. Busy planning my mother’s 90th birthday bash and traveling to Florida as often as possible. Kids and Marcial are great and overall life is good!"
In mid-March, Grisel developed symptoms, tested positive for COVID-19, and was admitted to the hospital. She died of the infection.
Grisel began as administrative assistant to the chair of medicine at Einstein Montefiore in 1987. In this capacity, she served six chairs or interim chairs, including Drs. James Scheuer, Philip Lief, John Hardin, Victor Schuster, Laurie Jacobs, and Yaron Tomer.
Dr. Scheuer said of his 12 years working with Grisel: "In the early time, there were no computers, no word processors, no email. All memos and letters were dictated and typed, frequently revised and re-typed. Memos were xeroxed and sent out by mail, taking time to reach their recipients. Meetings were set up by phone calls back and forth. Minutes typed and retyped and snail-mailed. Phone calls back and forth for everything. By today’s standards, a highly inefficient system, which Grisel needed to balance while remaining efficient and projecting helpfulness and calmness. This took a person of intelligence, a strong work effort, and one of fine human qualities."
Dr. Schuster recalled special moments: "Two months into the job, as I walked past her desk to enter my office, she said, ‘You look like you're dragging a little.’ I said, ‘Yes Grisel, that's true. I'm drowning, absolutely drowning in this job.’ She looked at me and said, ‘You? Drowning? No. You're doing great!’ That put the wind back in my sails.”
He added, “I often referred to Grisel as 'the real chair of medicine' because she made me look good and made the department hum behind the scenes. I got to make the speeches, and she picked up the pieces. For 12 years, she was my sounding board. I called her my 'work wife', and it was apt. When it was time for the dancing to start at departmental parties, she would pull me onto the dance floor to salsa with her, even though she and Marcial were among the best salsa dancers at the party. I still have my 29,000 emails to and from Grisel. They tell the story of a remarkable assistant, colleague, and human being. I will miss her terribly."
“It’s hard to believe that I have known Grisel for more than thirty years, and even more difficult to learn that she has passed,” said Shelly Motzkin, who worked as medicine’s senior administrator, starting with Dr. Scheuer and on through the early years of Dr. Schuster’s tenure. “Grisel and I worked together for over 10 years in the department of medicine. She was always warm, welcoming and greeted everyone with a smile. She was dedicated, hardworking and kind. We shared many happy times, including family celebrations, and sad ones such as the loss of parents. I will miss her very much.”
Our current chair, Dr. Yaron Tomer, worked with Grisel for a year and a half, just prior to her retirement. “Grisel was an amazing and beautiful person,” he said. “Until her last day in the office, she was committed and dedicated to her work, caring about everybody and everything in the most humble and gracious manner. She was looking forward to her retirement, a time she planned to spend with her beloved family. As a member of our team Grisel accomplished a lot and was extremely efficient, but always did it with an unassuming nature. I remember her specifically asking us not to have a retirement party for her since she did not want all the attention. I will deeply miss her wisdom, humor, and love for everyone around her.”
"The sadness is immeasurable, but the memories are incredible," said Carol Gbur, a secretary whom Grisel supervised.
We send our deepest and heartfelt condolences to Grisel’s husband Marcial, son Marcial Gianni, daughter Giamara and grandchildren Gianni, Amaya, Giada, Carina, and Ethan.
Editor's Note: If you would like to leave a remembrance of Grisel please visit our In Memoriam page.
Posted on: Tuesday, April 07, 2020