Westmont Magazine Wallace Emerson Society

Golden Warrior Maureen erickson Reyes ’52 spent 33 years working for Oregon’s welfare agency. One of her most challenging assignments was directing the state’s refugee program when Saigon fell. In 1991 she embarked on a new career as a nurse. Earning her nursing degree at the age of 60, she has worked as a staff nurse for the Red Cross and owned and operated an adult foster home. She intends to continue using her nursing to help others. A sociology major at Westmont, she considers her college years the best of her life. Her mother urged her to attend a Christian school to strengthen her faith, and Maureen appreciates the Christian education she received. Through hard work and determination, she became the first person in her family to graduate from college. “The two most important influences in my life have been my parents and Westmont,” she says. Knowing that her parents always wanted to use their 350-acre Oregon ranch for the Lord’s work, she plans to leave it to Westmont through her estate. Despite the recent death of her husband, Peter, and her own heart surgery, Maureen is praising the Lord for the many blessings he has given her.

For more information about the Wallace Emerson Society, call Iva Schatz, Director of Planned Giving, (805) 565-6034 or (800) 998-5652.