Virginia Wiley Cottongim Memorial Scholarship

Virginia Wiley Cottongim (1932-2013) earned her RN in 1953 from the Methodist Hospital School of Nursing in Dallas, Texas and subsequently enjoyed a 40 year career as a Registered Nurse, working as an Emergency Room Supervisor and later in Nursing Administration.

Nursing is a profession that suited Virginia perfectly. Virginia’s compassion for people was simply too potent for her to observe the suffering of others when she knew there was something that could be done. On several occasions Virginia opened her home to patients and their families who were in need.

While volunteering her time to provide medical services at a migrant worker’s camp Virginia was introduced to a young boy with spina bifida who could barely walk even with the aid of leg braces and crutches. The child’s family had very limited resources. Virginia and her family took him in. He lived with them for about a year, during which time Virginia arranged for him to receive multiple surgeries at Scottish Rite Hospital which resulted in the complete elimination of the braces and crutches and later found a foster home for him.

Those who knew Virginia well speak of the lessons they learned from observing how she lived life. As you begin your career in nursing we hope you, too, will remember the example Virginia set: To be a nurse is to CARE for people. Paperwork and the rest are also important, but caring is the most essential.

“Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act.” – Proverbs 3:27