Mary “Ninfa” Villegas Tannen
Mary “Ninfa” Villegas Tannen ’57 BSN found inspiration for her career path through the encouragement of one who not only held family ties, but was a former Sister of Charity of the Incarnate Word, the University of the Incarnate Word’s founding congregation.
“My Aunt Julia (Sr. Eusebius) Villegas encouraged me to consider a career in nursing,” said Tannen. “She belonged to the congregation and taught at schools in San Antonio.”
Villegas recommended Tannen apply for the Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) program in her hometown of Brady, Texas. Upon completing the program, she realized her passion for nursing and set her sights on continuing her education at UIW, then Incarnate Word College (IWC), at the suggestion of her aunt.
Tannen said that because her parents were hardworking, dry-land cotton farmers and she came from a large family, they did not have the means to send her to Incarnate Word.
“A dear family friend, Fr. Joseph Petsch, alerted me to the then recently established Lozano Scholarship,” explained Tannen. The scholarship was offered through “La Prensa,” the Spanish speaking daily newspaper owned by the Ignacio Lozano family.
She applied for the scholarship and became its first recipient. She began studying nursing at Incarnate Word in 1953, graduating in 1957.
“Without the scholarship and Julia’s encouragement, I would not have been able to attend and graduate from IWC,” said Tannen.
Mary “Ninfa” Villegas visiting with Sr. Eusebius in Seguin, Tx.
She fondly credits her nursing residency at CHRISTUS Santa Rosa in conjunction with the IWC degree program as providing her a strong background for her career.
“Throughout my career as a nurse in the United State Air Force, a VA nurse, and an ICU/CCU nurse later on, I came to realize the value of the excellent education I received at Incarnate Word,” she recalled.
Though she has been retired from nursing for 28 years, she admits she misses the profession dearly.
“I miss taking care of patients,” shared Tannen. “It was truly a rewarding career.”
In fact, her legacy continues as one of her youngest sons is now studying to be a registered nurse (RN) in New Mexico. And with seven grandchildren attending college and pursuing degrees in a variety of fields, education is a value close to her heart.
Tannen’s aunt eventually left the congregation and married. The couple generously provided for Tannen in their will and, inspired by the encouragement and assistance Villegas gave her at the start of her career, she decided to use a portion of the inheritance to aid deserving students so they might be able to complete their education.
Fr. Joseph Petsch
“I have been greatly blessed and I feel very strongly that now that I am comfortably retired, I need to assist future generations to the best of my abilities,” said Tannen.
She also has a scholarship fund to help students attend college at a high school in Kansas, inspired once again by her aunt who taught at a local school there.
Her gracious scholarship, the Tannen Scholarship, given in memory of Julia Villegas and Eugene Bell, provides emergency funds to students who qualify to help offset costs of completing their education at UIW.
Tyler Taylor, a single parent and registered nurse for over 20 years, is a recipient of the scholarship, which allowed her to graduate in December 2015.
“During this last semester of my schooling, I ran into some financial challenges that made it difficult for me to see the light at the end of the tunnel since I was so close to finishing my degree,” said Taylor. “This scholarship came at the right time and I am truly grateful.”
