Mary S. Anderson knew the value of education.
"Mom graduated from Carlton College in 1953. It was rather unusual for a woman to go to college," said Kim Schutt of Hutchinson. "Her mother was a college graduate, also from Carlton. ... She (Anderson) realized she was privileged and was given that opportunity, whereas so many people — women, in her mind — weren't able to do that. She really wanted to make sure people who really wanted to go back to school or finish a degree would have some help."
Almost four years ago, Anderson became a resident of Harmony River Senior Living in Hutchinson.
"Mom was a people person, so she loved talking to the staff out there, learning a lot about them," Schutt said. "One thing she realized was these young people out there are working this job, which is not easy, and some of them want to go to school, but are trying to figure out how to pay for that with young children, and work and all that."
One day, Anderson and Schutt got to chatting about the subject.
"She said she wished there was something she could do," Schutt said.
Schutt offered to look into it, and found Ridgewater College has a scholarship program. The two talked about the best way to use the program, but before a plan came together Anderson died on Aug. 27.
"She had been on hospice, but her death was still unexpected," Schutt said.
Schutt spoke to her siblings about Anderson's wishes, and they realized they had to make a scholarship happen. They raised what money they could and added it to money Anderson had set aside. Stearnswood matched everything with a contribution.
"Mom's grandfather started Stearnswood," Schutt said. "The company said they wanted to do something."
"The Anderson clan raised the money, and we thought it was a great idea," said Corey Stearns, president of Stearnswood.
He said everyone knew the value Anderson placed on education, and her desire to help others.
"Mary was not a hold-back-information kind of person," Stearns said.
The Stearns Foundation, which Anderson was a founding member of, pitched in enough to bump the total to $50,000.
The money was placed into an endowment with Ridgewater College Foundation, which means only money earned on its investment will be spent for a $2,000 scholarship every year. Anderson's family made sure the Mary S. Anderson Scholarship recognizes her wishes.
"It needs to go to an employee of Harmony River who is studying any program at Ridgewater toward a degree," said Kelly Magnuson, executive director of the Ridgewater College Foundation. "That will be a nice, big scholarship to make an impact on a student who is struggling to juggle work, family and a part-time or full-time class load."
