Vivian Charity Beutel

Type of Donation:       Organ and Tissue

Age and Location:      41, Santa Barbara, CA

Donation Date:           May 21, 2015

Sponsor:                      OneLegacy

VIVIAN’S STORY

Vivian Charity Beutel lived life with an other-worldly confidence and a spirit of gratitude and presence for every waking day. She teemed with a hunger for life as an avid runner, yogi, backpacker, horticulturist, and explorer. Without a doubt, she was the light of every space which held her presence. Her smile was bright and infectious, her eyes beamed with vivaciousness and love. Her signature cackle of a laugh that would burst abruptly from her mighty 4'11" body distinguished her apart in any room.



For nearly 15 years, her livelihood as a Neonatal Intensive Care (NICU) nurse embodied her namesake: Charity. Viv fulfilled her vocation and treated the youngest and most vulnerable patients at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital with diligence, dignity, and compassion. Long after her patients graduated from the NICU, Viv felt an impetus to care for them and their families, taking it upon herself to organize the Annual NICU Reunion at the Santa Barbara Zoo.



Her lasting impact in the NICU at Cottage Hospital is memorialized through The Vivian Beutel NICU Family Assistance Fund, or VIVI'S FUND, a special fund established by the not-for-profit Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital Foundation to alleviate the short-term financial hardships that often burden families whose newborns are being treated in the NICU.



Viv's spirit of charity lives on in VIVI'S FUND and is epitomized in her legacy as an organ donor. Even after her passing, she continues to save lives, having successfully donated five of her organs. Two of her recipients, Scott (kidney) and Connie (lungs) maintain a close relationship with her family.



Importantly, Viv modeled for others a philosophy for living that we all ought to adopt: be happy, give generously, live within your means, love hard, and be grateful. How she could have mastered the meaning of life at such a young age continues to mystify those who love her, and her wisdom and legacy continue to guide them. As the adage goes, may we "live like Viv."