Gift Creates Scholarship For SVC Students
Trumbull resident Anne Bartin, who passed away in 2019 at 99 years old, had set aside funds in her will to support students studying nursing and radiography at Sacred Heart University's St. Vincent's College (SVC). This gift was the beginning of the Anne and Chester Bartin Scholarship, which also honors Anne's husband who passed away in 2004.
Maureen Coakley, the Bartins' niece, oversees her aunt's estate, as the two were close. Maureen often took Anne grocery shopping on Sundays and listened to her talk about what book she was reading and share her thoughts on the state of the world. She said her aunt was always youthful and outgoing, even in her 90s.
Maureen worked with SHU to coordinate the donation, which established an endowed fund. She said she was pleased to enact her aunt's wishes.
Neither Anne nor Chester were medical professionals—they both retired from Sikorsky—but they had great respect for the health care profession. "They were grateful for the work of doctors and nurses and really admired what they did," Maureen says. "My aunt was touched by the people who made a difference in the medical field."
She says that if her aunt were alive today to meet the scholarship's recipients, she would be happy to know they chose to be an essential worker. "There is a need for young, enthusiastic professionals who chose a career because they love taking care of people…I really think she would be thrilled."
To learn how you, like Anne, can make Sacred Heart a part of your legacy with a gift for the future, contact Stephen Auger at 203-365-4819 or augers@sacredheart.edu.