Nelle Morgan loved her profession and lived it to its fullest. Nelle Morgan could practice nursing only one way, and that was at the highest level of her ability. She brought this same attribute to her work when she was the Director of the Independence Sanitarium and Hospital School of Nursing. She was a mentor and an inspiration to numbers of students who benefited from her leadership.
Dr. Sherrie Kirkpatrick noted that Nelle Morgan believed adamantly that membership in one’s professional nursing organization is a mandatory responsibility of each nurse. Never one to preach something that she didn’t practice, she joined the ANA in 1930 and was a continuous member until her death 64 years later. Further she remembers that Nelle Morgan encouraged, cajoled, threatened and loved her proteges into leadership roles at all levels of the nursing profession.
Nelle served in many leadership positions in nursing organizations in Missouri including our own MONA – her keen humor, her insightful views, her leadership and the twinkle in her eyes. They don’t come any better than Nelle Morgan.
We honor this gentle woman who gave unstintingly to her profession and to this organization.