Caitlyn Kaufman, a 26-year-old Nashville nurse, was fatally shot as she drove down Interstate 440 westbound between Hillsboro Pike and West End Avenue on Dec. 3, 2020, Metro Nashville police said. She is a Butler High School and BC3 graduate.Police on Friday identified the woman as Caitlyn Kaufman, who worked at St. Thomas West Hospital.

“A life well lived” is a phrase usually associated with summing up the accomplishments and impact a person has had over many years before retirement or death. It was not meant to be used in remembering a 26--year-old woman.

But last week a life was taken from a young lady whose short time on this earth was spent preparing herself to be a servant to the most desperate of her friends, neighbors or complete strangers.

Caitlyn Marie Kaufman wanted to be a nurse. She wanted to take care of the sick. She wanted to help the injured. She wanted to save the harmed.

And those things she did.

If only for a few years, Caitlyn put herself into the middle of other people’s tragedies and desperation. She was an intensive care nurse. There is no greater calling than that of a nurse, in our opinion, and to choose to be part of a care team in a big city hospital a thousand miles from the family and the small community she grew up in was an amazingly brave and courageous thing to do.

The loss suffered by her parents is unimaginable. The loss to her friends, family and co-workers is staggering as well.

We are told by her teachers and coaches that she was both a fierce competitor and great teammate. Her time at BC3 left administrators and instructors with very positive thoughts and memories. And we couldn’t help but sense the love flowing between Caitlyn and her dog in her photos.

Why things like this happen at all and, in particular, why this brightly shining candle was stopped from glowing we can’t know or understand.

Hopefully time will bring some explanation of events and reason to her loved ones. They need that for closure of this awful tragedy. But as time partially heals the anguish they feel today, we hope they take some comfort in knowing that Caitlyn gave so much to so many in her short but admirable career as a proud member of the nursing profession.

A whole community suffers with you today and prays for peace and comfort in the difficult times ahead of you.

Yes, a life well lived. And we are sure that Caitlyn would join us in asking everyone to honor this fierce front–line worker by wearing your mask.

—RV