Scholarship Marks Milestone for World War II Veteran

With a gift of $100,000 to the UM School of Business Administration, Bostelman established the Carl Lee Nance Jr. Scholarship Endowment to honor her grandfather while providing support for future generations of Ole Miss students.

"What do you do for a 100th birthday to celebrate?" Bostelman asked. "He doesn't need anything at 100, and it's a legacy I can leave for him that will hopefully grow over the years and will be something that will serve students from his community for a long time to come."

First preference for the scholarship will be given to freshman business majors from Tippah County – both Bostelman and Nance were raised in Ripley. It's also where Nance, a 1948 UM business graduate and World War II veteran, owned and operated the family's hardware store, ambulance service and funeral home.

Bostelman, an entrepreneur in Nashville, Tennessee, surprised her grandfather with the framed endowment certificate when he became a centenarian on Oct. 2. Nance recently moved from Ripley to an independent living community in Oxford, where he celebrated the milestone with family and friends.

"It's hard not to be tickled pink with a granddaughter who gives a scholarship in your honor," Nance said. "She's a doll. She bought all this furniture in here. Education pays.

"Now that's something when you send a girl to Ole Miss from a little country town like Ripley, Mississippi, and she ends up able to give a scholarship. If she hadn't gone to Ole Miss, none of this would have happened."

Nance, an avid hunter, remembers another gift he received as a teenager: a Model 62 Winchester.

"I've killed many a squirrel with that rifle," he said. "I could strike a match with that rifle."

While the gun and the endowment in his name were both nice surprises, it's not really the gift that makes Nance happy; it's the giver. He's supremely proud of his granddaughter, and the feeling is mutual.

They've been best buddies since she was hold-my-hand-to-cross-the-street age, attending Rebel football games together since the days of cars in the Grove.

"He loves Ole Miss," Bostelman said. "He loves all things Ole Miss: the town, the sports, the school, and I do too. That's our connection. We are both huge Rebel fans."

Charlotte Parks, vice chancellor for development at the university, attended Nance's birthday celebration and expressed gratitude for Bostelman's gift.

"He was enjoying the attention and surrounded by cake, 100-shaped gold balloons, a framed certificate from the mayor proclaiming it Carl Lee Nance Jr. Day," she said. "The bond with Angela was evident.

"Angela's gift will begin assisting students immediately and continue to do so for generations."

Bostelman said her grandfather has always valued education.

"He made higher education possible for a lot of people in my family," she said. "It's just something that's important to him. To give that opportunity to deserving students in his region of Mississippi will make him happy."

The Carl Lee Nance Jr. Scholarship Endowment is open to gifts from individuals and organizations by mailing a check, with the endowment's name noted in the memo line, to the University of Mississippi Foundation, 406 University Ave., Oxford, MS 38655; or by giving here.

Top: Charlotte Parks (left), UM vice chancellor for development , and Angela Nance Bostelman (right) present a framed endowment certificate to Carl Lee Nance Jr. in honor of his 100th birthday. Bostelman established the scholarship in honor of her grandfather, who provided money to fund the Ole Miss alumna's education. Submitted photo