Betty Marie Stewart 52BSN has been a faithful and active member of Emory’s nursing alumni for more than three decades. In 1978 Stewart became the first woman to serve as president of the Emory Alumni Board, and she remains very involved in Emory alumni events, especially those of the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing.
In the early 1970s, Stewart helped revitalize the nursing school’s alumni activities, and her dedication was recognized recently by the Emory Alumni Association, which named her its 2016 recipient of the Jake’s Golden Heart Award. The award honors those whose demonstrated values of service, generosity of spirit, and loyalty to the university reflect the example set by the award’s namesake, Judson “Jake” Ward 33C 36G, beloved former dean.
In recognition of the education she received at Emory, Stewart and her late husband, Jim, made a bequest to support the school of nursing. “Hardly a day goes by that I am not grateful for my nursing education at Emory,” says Stewart, now retired. “I consider including the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing in my will an investment both in my alma mater and in the future of health care for all.”
Stewart hopes her gift will make a difference for future generations of Emory nursing alumni. “Nurses are assuming ever more expanding responsibilities today—leadership roles in clinical care, research, and teaching and, at Emory, always with the basic tenet that the patient is a person,” she says. “By remembering Emory in my will, I join with other colleagues and friends expressing gratitude for the past and a vision for the future.”
To learn more about planned giving and how it supports important work at Emory, contact the Office of Gift Planning at 404.727.8875 or giftplanning@emory.edu.