Retired nurse pledges gift to provide scholarships for nursing students

Ollie Creasy grew up in a coal mining community in West Virginia and lost her father in a mining accident when she was 3 years old. As her family struggled to make ends meet, she learned the art of perseverance and the benefits of hard work.

Creasy found a life partner with a similar hardscrabble upbringing and values. Her husband, Bill, was born in Charlottesville, Virginia, and grew up near Crabtree Falls, the highest waterfall east of the Mississippi River. He joined the U.S. Navy when he was 17 and later joined the U.S. Army, serving until his retirement. Notably, Bill was stationed in Germany during the Berlin crisis of 1961 that culminated in the building of the Berlin Wall separating West Berlin from East Germany.

Ollie Creasy is honoring her husband’s memory and their shared passion for the nursing profession by leaving an estate gift to establish the Richard (Bill) and Ollie K. Creasy Nursing Scholarship Endowment, a scholarship to benefit undergraduate nursing students.

Bill Creasy’s appreciation for nursing stemmed from his mother’s career serving as a practical nurse. Interestingly, Bill met Ollie because she and her brother were renting a home from Bill’s mother. Ollie married Bill at age 22 and became a second mother to his children.

Early in their marriage, the couple owned and operated a 300-acre cattle farm in Tennessee. But when a nursing education opportunity arose, Ollie jumped at the chance.

“The county started a 13-month LPN program, and I enrolled. I also had a job at a small, local hospital,” Ollie said.

Ollie’s education was not without its financial challenges.

“We worked, we did without, we managed,” she said, alluding to the commitment she and her husband had to her achieving her educational and career goals.

Though she started her nursing career later than most, not having begun her LPN program in Tennessee until she was 30, Ollie continued to work and go to school for many years. She went on to earn an associate degree in nursing from Middle Tennessee State University.

Once in the Augusta area, Ollie completed her undergraduate and graduate nursing degrees at the Medical College of Georgia in 1984 and 1986, respectively. Before entering the bachelor’s program, she completed her core requirements at then-Augusta College.

“I worked as a private duty nurse in both Augusta and Thomson. Then I got a call to work for the Veterans Administration and worked there for 10 years,” Ollie said.

Her favorite aspect of her chosen profession was educating her patients.

“I miss my patients and loved teaching them. I was sure to make the time to educate them,” she said.

Ollie also conducted a lot of in-service education programs for hospital staff. “Some health care providers are teaching sickness and disease. We need to be teaching health.”

Throughout their marriage, Ollie advocated for her husband’s health care; Bill suffered from a heart condition that required open heart surgery and left him hospitalized several times.

Ollie has also struggled with her own health issues, including losing a kidney to cancer.

“We both had good nurses,” she said, acknowledging the importance of good nursing and the positive difference it can make in the outcomes of patients.

Due to her health, Ollie was advised to retire from nursing in 1997. After her retirement, Ollie and Bill enjoyed another 18 years together before he passed away in 2015.

Because the couple’s estate gift is an endowment, the scholarship will open doors perpetually for numerous students to earn nursing degrees from the College of Nursing.

“Our children had opportunities to earn an education and are now well-situated. I’d like to provide educational opportunities for others,” Ollie said of their investment. “We need nurses, and there are people who need help to get there.”

To make a gift to the Creasy Nursing Scholarship Fund, or for other giving opportunities at Augusta University, please email the Philanthropy and Alumni Engagement team or call 706-721-4001.