MASSENA - Tina Vassar, Massena, was recently awarded the thirteenth annual Louise Harper Memorial Scholarship. In 2006, family and friends of Louise Harper, RN, established a memorial fund to provide an annual scholarship to a non-traditional student.
In 1992, twenty-two years after graduating from Parishville-Hopkinton Central School, Mrs. Harper earned an associate degree from SUNY Canton and became a registered nurse. She worked for thirteen years at E.J. Noble Hospital in Gouverneur, both in the hospital and at Kinney Nursing Home. At the time of her death in July 2005, Mrs. Harper had been charge nurse for many years at Kinney Nursing Home.
Mrs. Harper is survived by her husband, Dean S. Harper, Richville, and their four children, Dean Jr., Mark, and David Harper, and Patricia Rumble, and their families.
Mr. Dean S. Harper Sr. presented the $500 college scholarship to Tina Vassar. She and her husband, Stacy reside in Massena with their children, Alanna & Kylie Vassar, and Jordan McCallus. Tina was a 2002 graduate of Penn View Christian Academy, Penns Creek, Pennsylvania. After high school, she worked in the banking industry. Over a ten year period, she worked her way up from a part time bank teller to a branch manager, knowing her real dream was to become a nurse. Tina is currently a student at SUNY Canton, where she is in her second semester of the nursing program. She plans to get her associate's degree and then continue on to get her bachelor's degree in nursing.
Tina currently works part time as a CNA at Maplewood (United Helpers) nursing home in Canton and also does some private care. She is active in her local church and is a member of the Phi Theta Kappa honor society. Tina plans to stay local and make a positive impact on the medical care in the north country.
