NEWS

MUW creates scholarship in honor of slain nuns

Sarah Fowler

The Clarion-Ledger

A photograph of Sister Margaret Held, left, and Sister Paula Merrill is placed at the entrance to the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle on Monday in Jackson, where a memorial Mass was held for the two 68-year-old nuns who were killed last week in their Durant home.

Mississippi University for Women has set up a scholarship in memory of the two nuns killed in Durant last week.

Sister Margaret Held and Sister Paula Merrill, nurse practitioners who were killed in their home Aug. 25, were both graduates of The W’s nursing program.

According to a news release issued by the university, Held earned a master’s degree in 1994 and served for many years as a preceptor for The W’s family nurse practitioner students. Merrill received her bachelor of science in nursing degree from The W in 1988 and her master’s from the University of Alabama at Huntsville in 1996.

They continued to be involved with The W’s nursing program throughout their lives, the release stated.

“So many of our students have been touched by the selfless giving of Sister Margaret and Sister Paula to those in need,” Sheila Adams, dean of the College of Nursing and Speech-Language Pathology, said in the news release. “They will be greatly missed by all of us, especially those they ministered to on a daily basis. This is a tragic loss, and we hope this scholarship will honor the spirit of their lives.”

The Sister Margaret Held and Sister Paula Merrill Graduate Nursing Scholarship will be presented to a graduate nursing student who works in an underserviced or needy area or who is active in charitable or community service work.

Johnnie Sue Wijewardane, head of graduate nursing at The W, said both Held and Merrill had touched many W students, past and present. “As preceptors for our students, they demonstrated professionalism and caring through serving the poorest of the poor. They embodied what it means to be nurses and nurse practitioners. Through this scholarship I hope we can ensure that we always remember and honor their examples of charity and love of humanity.”

Gifts to the Held-Merrill Scholarship Fund may be made to the MUW Foundation, 1100 College St., W-1618, Columbus MS 39701. For more information, call 662-329-7148.

Contact Sarah Fowler at sfowler@gannett.com or 601-961-7303. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter.