She didn’t have a grand plan for her life and doesn’t claim any great understanding of how she’s impacted healthcare,

her community, or countless women’s lives. When asked what gave her courage to lead pregnancy counseling, abortion services, and women’s midlife health initiatives at UVA Health through periods when society only whispered about miscarriage, menstruation, menopause, incest, and difficult pregnancies, she laughs off the idea that she’s done something special. 

When you meet Catherine Zuver (BSN ’68), the sizable impact of her life’s work is clear, as is her genuine care for others, gift for telling stories, and her expansive, generous spirit. 

She grew up in McLean, VA, and fell in love with music and singing at a young age—“the era of Connie Francis and Peter, Paul, and Mary,” she recalls. Zuver first attended Madison College in Harrisonburg for two years before transferring to and graduating from UVA School of Nursing. She always balanced her music with a nursing practice guided by compassion, respect, and belief in others’ inherent dignity and worth. 

“I was one of the people who led the Prism Coffee House back in the day,” says Zuver, who’s been lead vocalist for classic rock bands all of her life, from Rose Valley Special in the 1970s to, most recently, Fosters Branch Band. “We had a lot of good people coming there, Emmylou Harris being one. This is where I sang in my first band.”

Zuver began her nursing career in psychiatry and mental health, first working at Blue Ridge Day Hospital before becoming Region Ten Community Services Board director and working in inpatient services at Western State Hospital. The experiences gave her the confidence to raise her hand when UVA Hospital sought a nurse to lead pregnancy counseling in the 1970s and ‘80s.  trans

“I counseled all the women considering or having abortions,” she says, “and followed them through the procedures, whether in the OR or labor and delivery. This was quite often not a popular service with the various staff involved,” she adds, but it was her job to be “a liaison and patient advocate.” 

 By the late 1980s, Zuver was helping establish UVA’s menopause clinic, initially part of the hospital’s mammography services, then part of its primary care center, before expanding to become UVA’s Midlife Health Center, led by Dr. JoAnn Pinkerton.  

 “Joann still tells me, ‘You know, patients still ask about you, Catherine,'” she says.

They focused on providing care from people who took the time to listen, brought speakers and exhibits focused on menopause from across the country, and hosted educational forums to highlight women’s unique health experiences. Zuver helped conduct clinical trials for hormone replacement therapy and launched UVA’s teen prevention council, all while continuing her work in pregnancy counseling for women receiving abortion care. After her retirement in 2012, Zuver cared for orphan children in Vietnam and Burma, volunteered at the Charlottesville Free Clinic, served on the Meals on Wheels board, and assisted in COVID vaccine clinic operations. 

Zuver today recalls both the highs and the lows, from helping untangle harrowing cases of young girls facing pregnancy under horrific circumstances to developing deep friendships with other healthcare providers.  Her keen ability to use her voice ultimately defined her life as a nurse, musician, volunteer, and architect of women’s health—one patient, story, and song at a time.