Receives $200,000 Estate Gift from Scottsbluff Family
The West Nebraska Division of the University of Nebraska Medical Center
College of Nursing in Scottsbluff has received an unrestricted gift
of more than $200,000 from the estate of Mildred Von Dege, a former insurance
executive in Scottsbluff who died last October at the age of 95. The gift,
which was made through the University of Nebraska Foundation, was announced
Tuesday morning at the West Nebraska Division by Ada M. Lindsey, Ph.D.,
dean of the UNMC College of Nursing.
“We are extremely thankful for Mildred Von Dege’s generosity as she
remembered the College of Nursing in this special way,” Dr. Lindsey said.
“This unrestricted gift allows the college maximum choice in determining
how it will be used to benefit our nursing education program in west Nebraska.”
Dr. Lindsey said a portion of the gift would be used to establish an
endowed fund in Von Dege’s name as a lasting legacy that will serve the
college in the future. The remaining sum will be used to meet the more
current needs of the nursing program in Scottsbluff.
“This gift is very useful in that it will help us to meet the needs
of the present and future as we strive to assist both nursing students
and faculty,” said Gloria Gross, assistant dean of the West Nebraska Division
of the College of Nursing. “We are the only nursing college west of North
Platte. This gift speaks to the importance of the existence of nursing
education in this part of the state and the country.”
Von Dege decided to name the NU Foundation in her estate because of
the care she received after a serious car accident. She was extremely pleased
with her hospital nurses who received their education at the West Nebraska
Division of the College of Nursing, and she wanted to do something to support
nursing education at the college for generations to come.
Born on June 25, 1903 near Adams, Neb., Von Dege’s family moved to
Bayard, Neb. in 1911. After graduating from Bayard High School, she
married Milan Wasser in 1922. The couple moved to Lincoln three years later
and Von Dege attended the University of Nebraska. In 1926, they moved
to Scottsbluff and opened Wasser Insurance Agency. After Wasser’s death
in 1940, Von Dege married Thomas Von Dege in 1945. She continued
to operate the insurance agency until 1962.
“Mildred was a wonderful, yet simple, person,” said George Austin,
a Scottsbluff man who is Von Dege’s cousin and her closest living relative.
“She was very nice and extremely generous. Many organizations and
individuals will benefit from the gifts she left behind.”
In addition to the gift Von Dege made to the NU Foundation, her estate
will benefit the First United Methodist Church in Scottsbluff where she
was a member for more than 50 years.
The UNMC College of Nursing is the largest nursing school in the state
with a total of more than 700 students at its Omaha, Lincoln, Kearney and
Scottsbluff campuses. It is the only nursing school in the state to offer
undergraduate, master’s and doctorate degrees.
UNMC is the only public academic health science center in the state.
Through its commitment to research, education and patient care, UNMC has
established itself as one of the country’s leading centers for cancer research
and treatment and solid organ transplantation. More than $34 million in
research grants and contracts are awarded to UNMC scientists annually.
In addition, UNMC’s educational programs are responsible for training more
health professionals practicing in Nebraska than any other institution.
The University of Nebraska Foundation is a non-profit corporation supplementing
support for students, faculty, facilities and programs at the University
of Nebraska’s four campuses through gifts from alumni, friends, corporations
and other foundations.