Published: July 02, 2009 11:25 am      

Cleburne’s Tidmore receives new nursing scholarship

A new scholarship for Cleburne High School graduates interested in the field of nursing has been established by Cleburne ISD Maintenance Department employee Don Williams in memory of his late wife.

Tiffany Tidmore, a member of the CHS Class of 2009, is the first recipient of the Sharon Williams Memorial Nursing Scholarship, which will be given annually in remembrance and honor of a wife and mother who “loved nursing and taking care of people.”

“She spent more than 20 years working as an LVN.,” said Williams, whose wife died of a heart attack in November at the age of 53.

“Her death was such a surprise,” Williams said. “I wanted to do something to honor her, to make her name live on. I wanted to help people to remember who she was and to continue to help others. She was the best nurse in Cleburne. She was so dedicated.”

Known as “Bunny” by family and friends because of her birth on Easter Sunday, Williams said his late wife chose to study nursing after taking care of her late mother and grandmother.

“She was raised by her mother, who died when Sharon was 20, and also by her grandmother,” Williams said. “They were strong women, who were much like pioneer women, who did it all on their own.”

He also remembers Sharon as a wonderful mother to two sons, Ryan, an Army staff sergeant who recently returned to the U.S. from a tour in Iraq, and Ross, who has been studying at Texas A&M and will transfer to Texas Tech in the fall.

Williams’ nursing career included working as a nurse for several local physicians and serving as a nursing supervisor and office manager.

“She couldn’t ever go to Wal-Mart and just be there a minute,” Williams said. “She’d go in for three items and be back two hours later because she had run into so many people she knew, who she’d cared for.”

“The scholarship just popped into my mind,” he said. “I wasn’t sure what to do. I talked to Hill College and to the Cleburne branch of First State Bank of Grandview. I wanted the scholarship to go to a Cleburne graduate, like Sharon, who was interested in studying nursing at Hill.”

Williams also talked to Robin Gosdin, who oversees the health science technology program at CHS.

“We are very thrilled to have a new scholarship that will benefit our students who want to have careers in nursing,” Gosdin said. “This year’s recipient, Tiffany Tidmore, hopes to become a registered nurse. She passed the state licensing exam to become a certified nurse aide right before she graduated, which will be a great help in reaching her career goal.”

“I want to make this an annual scholarship,” Williams said. “School is expensive, but the $500 I would like to give every year will help. I may have to have some garage sales and a bake sale to raise the money each year. I want to help a student who would like to go to school and is interested in nursing, but needs some financial help. We need nurses; they are our angels.”

Donations to the Sharon Williams Memorial Nursing Scholarship may be made at the First State Bank of Grandview’s Cleburne branch at 303 Colonial.