The Gladys Pedron Nursing Endowed Scholarship was recently established at the University of Arkansas Hope-Texarkana by Linda Boulton and her family in memory of her aunt, Gladys Pedron. Preference for the scholarship is given to a student pursuing a degree in Nursing at UAHT.
Gladys was born in Mineral Springs, Arkansas, on July 7, 1900, and later moved to Texarkana, Arkansas, where she passed away in 1975. She was the oldest of ten children. When Linda was only a year old, her mother passed away, and her Aunt Gladys then took her and her sister in to raise. Gladys also helped take care of her aging mother, Linda’s grandmother, until she passed away.
“Aunt Gladys was the closest thing I had to a mother and took excellent care of us,” Boulton said. Linda, now retired and residing in Oxford, Mississippi, has worked as the governor’s appointments secretary in New Hampshire, for the North Mississippi Rural Legal Services in Oxford, ran for Public Service Commissioner in Mississippi, led local and national environmental movements, owned and operated the only health foods store in Oxford, and owned and operated the River View Hotel Bed-and-Breakfast in Calico Rock, Arkansas.
“My aunt always said that she wished she’d had the opportunity to become a nurse. So, we established this scholarship in her memory to help make it possible for others who have the same dream she had to make it come to fruition. In addition, we chose to establish this scholarship at UAHT because this is where Aunt Gladys lived her life, and we’d like to see people in this area have the chance to achieve their educational goals,” Boulton said.
Dr. Christine Holt, UAHT Chancellor, said, “We are humbled and grateful for the remarkable way Ms. Boulton memorialized the life and legacy of her aunt, Gladys. This generous investment in our students will help them realize their career aspirations and positively impact the healthcare needs of many individuals and families in our region.”
