At right: Clifford “Rube” Waybrant of Pickford and his son, Jim Waybrant of Newberry, sign documents to donate a home to Lake Superior State University. Proceeds will create the Waybrant Family Licensed Practical Nurses Scholarship. Long-time Pickford resident Clifford “Rube” Waybrant and his son, James, have created a new scholarship for licensed practical nursing (LPN) students at Lake Superior State University (LSSU). For the elder Mr. Waybrant, it’s a creative way to thank the nurses at War Memorial Hospital’s Long Term Care Unit at War Memorial Hospital who have been caring for his wife, Bernice.

“The nurses at Long Term Care have been giving Bernice such quality care that I wanted to find a way to show my appreciation,” said Mr. Waybrant. “Many of the LPNs are people who go back to college but find there are very few scholarships available to them.”

After meeting with LSSU Foundation Executive Director Dave Eitland and conferring with his son, Mr. Waybrant decided to donate some residential property to the University to create a scholarship. After the property has been sold and the funds invested for a year, the Waybrant Scholarship will help nursing students.

Dr. Steve Merrill, dean of the School of Nursing at Lake Superior State University, said there are very few scholarships intended for LPNs. The Waybrant Scholarship, he said, is an excellent first step in building needed scholarships for this program.

Mrs. Waybrant once wrote about the Pickford area for The St. Ignace News .

(LSSU photo by John Shibley)