According to a recent story in the MSU Magazine, Billie B. Wingfield, was the most influential person in her son Jim Wingfield’s pursuit for higher education.
She grew up during the Depression in rural southwest Missouri and “always wanted to go to college, but wasn’t able to financially,” said Wingfield. She worked as a principal’s secretary for 36 years, and highly regarded education and the impact it could make on a person’s life.
Consequently, his mother’s name will appear alongside Jim’s in the title of the endowed scholarship he has established through a planned gift. Just as scholarships provided Wingfield the financial support to receive a higher education, he hopes this scholarship in his mother’s honor will help students from a similar background.
“She was one of the smartest people I ever knew,” he said, “so I wanted to do this for her, and also give back to students who don’t have a lot – because I didn’t, and we didn’t.”
To read the full story, see James Wingfield