Heasler Memorial Nursing Scholarship

The Eleanore Heasler Memorial Nursing Scholarship was started in 1990 by Richared Heasler, Katherine Christiansen, and Mary Lois Jacobson, three siblings who wanted to pay tribute to the beloved aunt who helped raise them. Eleanore Heasler (1891-1980) was the first Wyoming woman to go overseas in the armed services. For 26 months, she served in World War I in Germany in the trenches and then went on to work as one of Powell’s most beloved nurses until her retirement in 1957.
In 1994, the scholarship was renamed the Heasler Memorial Nursing Scholarship to honor not only Eleanore, but her descendants who had followed in her footsteps—Mary Lois Jacobson, Debra Louise Jacobson and Elizabeth Marie (Jacobson) Winning.
In the words of Katherine Christiansen, the Heasler Memorial Nursing Scholarship celebrates four generations of nursing, from World War I to the present day. “This scholarship represents four women who had a loving and caring attitude, along with a good work ethic, who went far beyond the act of caring and compassion for people. It wasn’t just a job for them.”
At least two members of the Heasler family received their nursing degrees from NWC, Debbie Louise Jacobson and Bob Broderick (who attended NWC after he retired to obtain his LPN and became the first male graduate of NWC’s nursing program in 1982).
The large and loving Heasler family worked hard to support one another in school and out, and their scholarship endowment at Northwest College not only celebrates their nursing legacy but also their legacy of supporting the dreams of young people for a brighter future.