We are deeply saddened to share news of the passing of nurse midwife Cindy Hunter on October 25, 2024. Please join us in remembering and honoring her life. 
She was born on August 20, 1948 at St. Francis Hospital in Wichita, Kansas to Dorothy and Edwin Orloske. In 1966, Cindy graduated from East High School in Wichita. Cindy stayed lifelong friends with several people she knew from high school. Four years later, she completed a bachelor’s degree at Kansas State in English and Biology.
After a two-years living in Twentynine Palms, CA near the marine base she and the family moved to Eugene in 1972 with her then husband Gary Weck, an infant Aaron born March 15, 1972 at home, and toddler Thad born September 24, 1970. After arriving in Eugene, she worked at the State Employment Agency. In 1977, she joined the Eugene Police Department as a night patrol officer after graduating from the Oregon State Police Academy. Cindy was the second woman to be an officer in the city of Eugene and among the first in the State of Oregon. Though her time in law enforcement was brief, it was formative in her understanding of our community and its needs. In 1981, she graduated from Lane Community College with an Associate Degree in nursing.
Cindy began working as a registered nurse in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Sacred Heart Medical Center, in Eugene. She also worked part-time as a nurse at the Nurse Midwifery Birthing Center in Eugene. Cindy doggedly pursued nurse-midwifery and she and her family proudly supported her move to Connecticut to attend the Nurse-Midwifery program at Yale University. She completed a Master’s Degree with High Honors as a nurse-midwife in 1987 and was asked to join the permanent teaching staff at Yale but she wanted to be in Oregon.
Cindy returned to Eugene to take a position in the Prenatal Clinic, a clinic created in 1987 to serve families without health insurance who otherwise might not receive prenatal care. Cindy and another midwife were the first two midwives to practice at the clinic. The Prenatal Clinic and the Nurse Midwifery Birthing Center eventually became one practice and Cindy was appointed the new midwife manager in March 1997. One of Cindy’s accomplishments was the Birth Center applying and obtaining the World Health Organization Baby Friendly Certification and Accreditation from the Commission for the Accreditation of Birth Centers. She continued working on these projects after she retired.
Cindy continued in management and practice positions at the Birth Center prior to its relocation at Riverbend Hospital in 2010. In 2009 she took the position of Nurse Manager in Labor & Delivery at Riverbend Hospital until 2015 when she retired.
Cindy has been a steadfast supporter of midwifery birth center care in Lane County since the 1980s. In addition to serving as a mentor to Our Community Birth Center’s team, she also helped to beautify the garden in front of Our Community Birth Center with new plants and flowers when we opened in 2021. In the final months of her life, Cindy dedicated time to organizing and compiling historical documents and photos of the birth center from the 1980s to the present. Cindy will always be remembered for the pivotal role she played in the history of birth center care in Lane County.
A memorial fund has been set up in Cindy’s honor. Please follow the link to make a donation to Our Community Birth Center, ensuring that midwifery care will remain a staple in Lane County for years to come.