Louise Rummel

Louise Gladys Rummel (née Grant; 2 March 1937 – 21 August 2025) was a New Zealand nurse and nursing educator. She taught at Manukau Institute of Technology for forty years. Rummel was made an honorary member of the New Zealand Nurses Organisation in 2004. In 2024, she was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to nursing education.

Early life and family Rummel was born Louise Gladys Grant in Wellington on 2 March 1937, the third daughter of William and Molly Grant. Her early years were spent living at Kaitoke, before the family moved to Lower Hutt. She was educated at Wellington Girls' College, and then worked for the Bank of New Zealand and the New Zealand National Airways Corporation, before enrolling for nursing training in 1957. On 17 December 1960, she married Stuart William Rummel, and the couple went on to have three children.

Nursing and academic career Rummel trained as a nurse at Wellington Hospital, achieving registration in 1960. Rummel worked in a number of clinical areas, including occupational health, where she established the first occupational health clinic for New Zealand railway workers, from 1962 to 1967. She also led the development of the nursing diploma programme into the Bachelor of Nursing degree.

Rummel worked in the field of nursing history, and led the writing of a history of the Department of Nursing and Health Studies, which was published in 2015. She had been predeceased by her husband, Stuart Rummel, in 2006.

Honours and awards In 2004, Rummel was made an honorary member of the New Zealand Nurses Organisation.

Selected works