Lystra Gretter (née Lystra Eggert) was born in September 3, 1858 in Bayfield, Canada West (now known as Ontario). She was a Canadian-American nurse who devoted her career to improving the nursing field in Michigan, promoting nursing as a profession, and writing the Nightingale Pledge.
Her father was a Swiss doctor and her mother was a Canadian of Dutch descent. She received her early education in the Bayfield area until 1866. Her family then relocated to Greensboro, North Carolina, where she continued her education in private schools. At the age of 19, she married John Birney Gretter, adopting the name Lystra Gretter. John, a veteran of the Confederate Army under Robert E. Lee, was significantly older than Lystra. In 1881, the couple welcomed their daughter, Mary.
Tragedy struck in 1884 when John passed away, leaving Lystra to raise their three-year-old daughter on her own. Seeking a fresh start, Lystra moved to Buffalo, New York, with her mother and sister in 1886. She enrolled in the Buffalo General Hospital Training School for Nurses and graduated with honors two years later. Following graduation, Lystra assumed the role of Principal at the Farrand Training School for Nurses in Detroit, Michigan, located at Harper Hospital.
From 1889 to 1907, Lystra served as the Nursing School Superintendent, implementing changes that had a profound impact on nursing education nationwide. She extended the nursing programs from one to two and later three years, allowing aspiring nurses more hands-on experience. Thanks to her efforts, Michigan became the second state in the nation to require nursing certification.
In 1908, Lystra was appointed Director of the Detroit Visiting Nurses Association. During her tenure, she founded tuberculosis hospitals, established the first free maternity and infant care clinics in Detroit, and introduced health screenings for all school-aged children.
While Lystra made significant contributions to the nursing profession, she is best known for her role in composing the Nightingale Pledge in 1893. Collaborating with the Committee for the Farrand Training School for Nurses, she crafted a modified version of the Hippocratic Oath that is still used by physicians today.
In her later years, Lystra Gretter played a vital role in mobilizing nurses for the American Red Cross Nursing Service during both World Wars. She continued to lead the Detroit Visiting Nurses Association until her passing in 1951 in Grosse Pointe, Michigan.
Recognizing her outstanding contributions, Lystra Gretter was posthumously inducted into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame in 2004 for her tireless efforts in promoting nursing as a profession during the 19th and 20th centuries.