History of the Scholarships Offered
The Edward J and Doris Daly Baxter Scholarship Fund
The Edward J and Doris Daly Baxter Scholarship Fund was endowed by Doris Daly Baxter and her eight children in June of 1990 at a surprise party celebrating the retirement of her husband, Dr. Edward J. Baxter, from his 50 years of practicing medicine. The first scholarship was awarded for the 1990 – 1991 school year, and thanks to the devotion of donations from their children and others in our community, it has continued each year since.
This fund provides scholarships to nursing students at the Firelands Regional Medical Center School of Nursing.
“The importance of a nurse’s profession came early on in my life,” says Judy Monaghan, one of Dr. and Mrs. Baxter’s children. “My father worked with nurses in his private practice. Nurses were an integral part of his success. They always provided a caring and comfortable environment for patients.”
Judy explained that the nurses in her father’s practice were treated like family, and his patients appreciated the fact that the nurses knew them by name.
In developing the fund, Dr. and Mrs. Baxter recognized that nurses are typically the first ones to come in contact with the patient, setting the tone for the physician and helpinng patients fully understand the recommendations from their physicians.
They also are compassionate to the fact that many students today are struggling financially. Some have families and need scholarship money to complete their training. Judy and her sister, Nancy, along with their families and area donors, have stepped up to meet this need.
Adelaide E. Walker Memorial Scholarship Fund
Another fund established with the Foundation for Firelands that benefits nursing students is the Adelaide E. Walker Memorial Scholarship Fund. A 1930 graduate of the Providence School of Nursing, Mrs. Walker, devoted 30 years to nursing. She retired in 1972 from the Ohio Veterans Home, where she was a night supervisor. With the sole support of her family, Mrs. Walker raised nine children with the help of her nursing career. “I remember my mother telling me that she didn’t know what she would have done without her nursing degree,” says Carolyn Parrish, Mrs. Walker’s youngest daughter.
Carolyn established the fund in 1989 in memory of her mother and in honor of her accomplishments as a nurse. The scholarship is awarded to a student who has completed the first half of the nursing course. She created a second fund in memory of her sister, the Rita Walker Baumeister Memorial Scholarship Fund, in 1995. The Rita Walker Baumeister scholarship is awarded to a student interested in geriatric care.
“Three of my sisters became nurses, including Rita. She and her husband, Lee, owned Classic Care Nursing Homes. Rita graduated from Providence School of Nursing in 1958 and had many ties to the community. My sister, Ruth Ebert, graduated from Providence in 1961, and another sister, Dorothy Atkinson, is an LPN. Several other members of our extended family are health care professionals as well,” says Carolyn. “The two scholarships are a way to honor our mother and sister, and at the same time benefit nursing students.”
