Rebecca 'Bke' Thompson Millwee Endowed Scholarship to Honor Senior Nursing Students

Photo Submitted

Bke Thompson Millwee from her time as a nursing student at the U of A.

A newly endowed nursing scholarship and award in the College of Education and Health Professions will honor the legacy and life of Rebecca (Bke) Thompson Millwee, a loving nurse, wife and mother whose professional career embodied profound and intentional care for patients, a servant-leader mindset, an insatiable curiosity for learning and boundless compassion for all.

The Rebecca (Bke) Thompson Millwee Endowed Scholarship in Nursing will recognize an outstanding rising senior nursing student who displays compassion for patients and people at the highest level, curiosity for continued learning, leadership and service by example and is well-respected by their peers.

"Bke loved people, and she loved nursing. She was a patient advocate and a compassionate caregiver," said Bke's husband, Patrick Millwee, and her children, Haleigh and Jackson. "As her father encouraged her to consider becoming a doctor instead, she held firm in her desire to care for patients as a nurse. She loved people and wanted to deliver compassionate care and healing as only a nurse can."

The daughter of an orthopedic surgeon and a registered nurse anesthetist, Millwee grew up wanting to be a nurse and attended the U of A on a scholarship to make her dream come true. Her name adorns a plaque on a table in the Pi Beta Phi sorority house, recognizing the countless hours she spent studying.

After graduating and becoming an RN, she worked in a variety of roles. Most notably, she worked as a circulating nurse with a team of heart surgeons at St. Vincent Infirmary. Once she gave birth to her daughter, Haleigh, she chose to become a full-time stay-at-home mom.

Millwee was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the age of 12, and throughout the more than 50 years she spent managing her disease, she became her own health advocate, navigating the numerous appointments, procedures and hospitalizations that patients with chronic illnesses endure.

"In her own humility, she would disagree, but Bke exemplified the very best of what it means to be a nurse," the Millwee family said. "Even as a patient, she mentored young nurses that cared for her. She was quick to recognize and offer praise to the many wonderful nurses she encountered on her medical journey."

Those presented with the Rebecca (Bke) Thompson Millwee Endowed Scholarship in Nursing will receive an award commemorating their achievement and a $5,000 academic scholarship.

Students can visit the College of Education and Health Professions scholarship website for details about scholarship dates, applications and processes.