A Colorado Springs family is devastated after losing their daughter, Jamie Novick, a flight nurse who perished in a medical transport airplane crash in the mountains of New Mexico.
Jamie was one of four people who died in the tragic accident, and her loss has left behind a grieving husband, two young children, and a family still raw from another unthinkable loss just thirteen months ago.
Jamie’s father, Greg Bunch, shared the heartbreaking news on social media, describing his daughter as one of the most incredible human beings anyone could have ever known.
“Her love, compassion, beauty, and laughter were unmatched,” he wrote, painting a picture of a woman who poured everything she had into the people around her.
Before becoming a flight nurse, Jamie served in the United States Air Force. After her military service, she threw herself into nursing school with a clear mission: to help people and save lives.
She went on to build a career at Memorial Hospital in downtown Colorado Springs, where she worked overnight shifts for much of her time there.
The dedication and heart she brought to that work did not go unnoticed. Before leaving Memorial Hospital, her colleagues honored her with the Nurse of the Year award, a recognition that spoke to the kind of care she gave every single patient who came through those doors.
Just a few months before the crash, Jamie had taken a new position as a flight nurse.
By all accounts, she loved it. The job combined her medical expertise with a sense of purpose and adventure, and those who knew her said she was exactly where she wanted to be.
Her husband, Ryan Novick, broke the news to his own social media followers just hours after receiving the devastating phone call at 6:50 in the morning.
He described Jamie as his beautiful bride, his best friend, his other half, and his partner in everything.
His words were raw and simple, asking only that people pray for peace and healing as his family tries to find a way through the nightmare they are now living.
What makes this loss even more staggering is the grief this family was already carrying. Thirteen months ago, Jamie’s older brother, Mark Bunch, was killed in a tragic car accident.
The Bunch family had been doing their best to recover from that crushing blow when news of Jamie’s death arrived.
Greg Bunch acknowledged the unbearable weight of it all, noting that his two oldest children are now in heaven together and that he holds onto the faith that he will see them again one day.
Jamie left behind a husband and two children who now face a future without the woman who was the heart of their home. She also leaves behind parents and siblings who described her as a daughter beyond measure.
The crash is under investigation, and the full circumstances surrounding the accident have not yet been fully disclosed to the public.
What is clear, however, is that four families are grieving, and a community that knew Jamie Novick is mourning the loss of someone who spent her life showing up for others, even when the hours were long and the work was hard.
She was, by every account, exactly the kind of person the world needs more of.
