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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Sure there were the heartfelt thanks of a college president for a $3.3 million donation, the hand-lettered &#8220;thank you&#8221; signs, and the roughly 200 nursing students erupting in thunderous applause.</p><p>But then there was this:</p><p>When the crowd broke up, Wilkes University School of Nursing senior Alesia Gibson stepped to John Passan, the philanthropist who donated the money. She bent to his ear so he could hear her, and as she spoke the dapper, gray-haired, 88-year old Wilkes-Barre native gently pecked her on the cheek.</p><p>&#8220;She was sweet,&#8221; Passan said when asked why. &#8220;I see all these nursing students and such a feeling comes over me.&#8221;</p><p>As for Gibson, she said she felt the need to thank the man transforming the program she will soon leave. She recounted how the nursing school has changed during her enrollment, all the things it didn&#8217;t have that Passan&#8217;s contribution will assure it has in perpetuity. And she called the kiss a gift.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a blessing,&#8221; the Kingston resident smiled. &#8220;It&#8217;s a blessing I can carry through my life. As a graduate I can just hold onto this special moment.&#8221;</p><p>Wilkes officially dedicated the nursing program, first made a separate school last year, to Passan Wednesday. Students wore white coats with embroidered patches on the sleeve that read &#8220;Passan School of Nursing.&#8221;</p><p>And when given a chance to offer a few words, Passan conceded the moment overwhelmed.</p><p>&#8220;I had all these remarks ready,&#8221; he said. &#8220;But when I walked in and saw all the nurses and nurse teachers,&#8221; he paused in a room transformed from raucous applause as he approached the podium to hushed silence as he spoke.</p><p>&#8220;You threw me off.&#8221;</p><p>University President Patrick Leahy noted the $3.3 million is the largest gift in the school&#8217;s 82-year history, and that it will be used to set up an endowment to continuously fund improvements in school equipment, programs and offerings.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s not just the size of the gift, but the flexibility Mr. Passan gave us,&#8221; Leahy said, adding that the money would be used to achieve &#8220;excellence.&#8221;</p><p>Nursing School Dean Deborah Zbegner noted nursing is now the most trusted profession in the country. &#8220;Medical doctors are second, and priests&#8221; &#8212; she paused to shoot an apologetic glance to Monsignor Joseph Rauscher who would end the ceremony with a blessing &#8212; &#8220;were third.&#8221;</p><p>Later Rauscher, who said he had been invited by Passan&#8217;s niece Carol Keup, an active member of his parish, embraced his profession&#8217;s showing. &#8220;I don&#8217;t mind being third, especially behind nursing.&#8221;</p><p>Zbegner also pointed out that Wilkes nurses travel around the country, and told Passan &#8220;Your name will now be everywhere. What a wonderful legacy!&#8221;</p><p>Passan made his fortune founding Valley Distributing &amp; Storage Co. in Wilkes-Barre, a regional company birthed from a one-truck delivery operation. He recounted the reasons he champions nursing, beginning with a brother who worked as a toxicologist and advised him to give to nursing education.</p><p>&#8220;He&#8217;s gone now,&#8221; Passan said. But the impact of the suggestion remains.</p><p>&#8220;Nursing is the most important part of health care,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Doctors can give medicine, nurses give the real care.&#8221;</p><p>Passan already has one building named after him at Wilkes: Passan Hall houses health and wellness services. And in 2011 a generous donation at Misericordia was rewarded with a building there rechristened the John J. Passan Hall.</p><p>So, which school does he favor?</p><p>Passan laughed.</p><p>&#8220;I like them both.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;Smart man!&#8221; one of the many well-wishers standing nearby said.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Nursing students from the Passan School Of Nursing at Wilkes University hold up signs thanking John Passan for his philanthropic generosity to the university over the years during Wednesday&#8217;s Passan School Of Nursing dedication at the Stark Learning Center. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_passan02.jpg</photo0><caption0>Nursing students from the Passan School Of Nursing at Wilkes University hold up signs thanking John Passan for his philanthropic generosity to the university over the years during Wednesday&#8217;s Passan School Of Nursing dedication at the Stark Learning Center. </caption0><photoCredit0>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_passan01.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">With the nursing school named after him for donating $3.3 million to Wilkes University, John Passan conceded the sight of some 200 nursing students &#8216;threw me off&#8217; during remarks at the dedication of the school Wednesday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_passan01.jpg</photo1><caption1>With the nursing school named after him for donating $3.3 million to Wilkes University, John Passan conceded the sight of some 200 nursing students &#8216;threw me off&#8217; during remarks at the dedication of the school Wednesday. </caption1><photoCredit1>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Mark Guydish</p><p>mguydish@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or on Twitter @TLMarkGuydish</p></shirttailMeta></div>

A gift to Wilkes University nursing students, and a ‘blessing’