New School of Nursing scholarship established

Melba Rose Morris

A new scholarship at the University of Kansas School of Nursing honors the late Melba Rose (Lungstrom) Morris, who died at the age of 90 in 2011. The scholarship will provide support for nursing students who have a connection to both military service and community service.

Melba Lungstrom Morris grew up in the central Kansas town of Enterprise and graduated from the Halstead School of Nursing in 1944. She joined the U.S. Army and served in the Philippines and Japan until the end of World War II in September 1945.

After returning from WWII, she went to Kansas University and then continued her nursing service in the Korean War through 1954, when she was honorably discharged as a 1st Lieutenant having received five bronze stars.

Morris’s son and daughter, David Morris and Mary Morford, both of Shawnee, Kan., established the scholarship through KU Endowment.

“Throughout life, not only did mother say it was important to give back, my sister and I witnessed it in her actions,” said David Morris.

Melba and her husband, Joseph Aaron Morris raised their children in Kansas City, Kan., where she was an avid gardener and delighted in canning produce from her garden and fruit trees. Throughout her life, she was an amateur photographer, a skill she had used to document her daily life while serving in the military. She was a community volunteer and a member of the Kansas Nursing Association, Master Gardeners and the American Legion.

“Our mother left a legacy that we hope will never be forgotten,” said Mary Morford.