Remembering Bobbie: Vigil held Sunday for Bobbie Kolada (print copy)

Published 2:30 pm Monday, May 29, 2023

unlight fought to cut through heavy gray clouds Sunday afternoon until a warm rain spilled from the sky just moments before a vigil to honor caregiver Bobbie Kolada.

More than two dozen former co-workers and friends of Kolada assembled in a parking lot off East Barnett Road and Black Oak Drive in Medford, a stone’s throw from the house where Kolada worked her final shift for Partnerships in Community Living.

Kolada, 66, suffered a broken neck and a serious head injury Feb. 20 at a group home for developmentally disabled adults run by the nonprofit. She never recovered from her injuries and died five weeks later.

Kolada’s death was the focus of a five-part investigative series by the Rogue Valley Times. Police, state and county officials initially were unaware of the extent of Kolada’s injuries, and her former employer has denied that a man for whom she cared caused the fatal injuries, even though the man had attacked Kolada and other caregivers previously.

Sunday’s vigil was organized by two former PCL employees — Jacksonville resident Valina Rivera-Schaefer and Grants Pass resident Liana Duffield. The event was focused on Kolada’s life, her kindness and devotion to caring for others.

Duffield and Rivera-Schaefer, who told their own stories of being injured and witnessing other attacks in the recent series, said they wanted to offer a place to remember Kolada and to talk about needed change.

“This industry is probably one of the most dangerous industries that’s out there, and yet the most struggling to find qualified employees — or even just employees — and the states don’t recognize it. They don’t see that there needs to be more training. It’s got to start at some level, and if it’s got to start from the bottom up, then showing and explaining what happened to Bobbie is the catalyst to get it started,” said Duffield, a former PCL human resources manager.

“All the fighting, I guess, that’s gone back and forth needs to stop. … Bobbie died doing what she loved to do, but she didn’t need to die this way. And we all need to come together, say our goodbyes and start healing, but healing with making a change in the community, in the field and getting more help from the outside and having them aware of what goes on every day.”

Sunshine pushed through near the end of the hourlong event, just as sad tales of Kolada’s final weeks of life were broken up by happier memories, including some laughter over Kolada’s enthusiasm for her work.

Medford resident Jean Work was a close friend of Kolada for nearly a decade.

“In my family, she’s known as Gramma Bobbie. I have 10 (great-grandchildren). Every one of them, she bought them Christmas presents, birthday presents. … Bobbie attended all our events. Every special occasion, Bobbie was there. She was just a part of our family,” Work said.

“She was just the most wonderful person you could know.”

Work said she knows other PCL employees who suffered serious injuries but, like Kolada, remained committed to the job.

“Bobbie loved those boys. She always referred to them as her boys. … But this wasn’t right,” Work said.

“There has to be some kind of change. Bobbie never said she was afraid for her life, but I really think she was, just because of the extensive injuries she got. The pinches. The bites. Something really has got to change.”

Rebecca Evans, a former PCL employee who worked in the house where Kolada was injured, as well as others, learned of Kolada’s death Saturday. Evans said she endured a number of concussions, attempted sexual assault and other injuries on the job.

“I found out yesterday … so it’s still a shock,” Evans said, wiping tears and rain from her face.

“They just don’t have enough people. And it’s pretty overwhelming because the atmosphere there is, if you’re getting beaten up and you’re not being tough and staying there to keep working, then you’re just a wuss. I got a talking-to one time because I worked at another house — a kids’ house where there were three boys. One of them was like 6 feet tall, so not really children like they like to say,” Evans said.

“So, behaviors happened, and it was two staff and three boys. … I woke up to being dragged (out of the house) by my hair, to the car, and then they slammed my head into the car window. I called and said, ‘I need to take a break. I need to leave.’ They said, ‘Sorry, nobody is available to help. You have to stay.’”

“One of my favorite memories of Bobbie was of her going out to get food for the guys. She would bring in food for them, and she’d get so excited to do nice things for people that she took care of, or the people she worked with. She would bring in food or treats for everyone — she would even come in on her day off,” Evans said.

“What makes me so sad is we knew it wasn’t safe. I fought for there to be more than one person in that house from day one. Bobbie was just the most amazing person, and it’s so unfair this happened to her when it could have been avoided.”

Kimberly Junghanns, a friend and co-worker of Kolada, learned of Kolada’s death Friday, after seeing local media coverage.

“I was hired to work in the same house as Bobbie, so she was one of the ones who trained me. When I heard what happened, I thought how that very well could have been me,” Junghanns said.

“I worked in the same house but went across the street eventually (to another PCL group home) and would be called over to help for an hour or two sometimes. … It was always nice to see Bobbie.

“When people leave a positive impression on your heart, you still think of them. She was just a wonderful person. … I don’t think I’d ever seen her in a bad mood. You might could tell a little bit when something wasn’t going well, but she was a very focused person and doing her job.”

“We mostly wanted a place for people to come and speak up or to even just listen to stories about Bobbie,” said Rivera-Schaefer, who noted that no PCL officials attended the vigil.

“It might have been nice if (PCL) had wanted to speak on their own behalf and say, ‘Listen, we realize this is an industry problem,’ and then to really acknowledge it and be positive and find the positives we can take out of this horrible tragedy.

“I think that’s how we move forward.”

Bobbie Kolada never met a stranger

THE DEATH OF BOBBIE KOLADA, a five-part series

Part 1: ‘Did somebody do this to her?’

Part 2: Who is investigating Bobbie Kolada’s death?

Part 3: ‘I remember thinking I was going to die’

Part 4: ‘Culture of disregard for employees’

Part 5: ‘I don’t want her to have died in vain’