CARIBOU — Winnifred (Winnie) Bell, a longtime nurse at Cary Memorial Hospital and Cary Medical Center, would have celebrated her 100th birthday in June of this year. Twenty years ago, the nurse’s family and friends established a scholarship program to commemorate her 80th birthday. This year the family completed the scholarship program by providing $1,000 scholarships to three graduates at Caribou High School.
Since 2005 the program has provided over $8,000 in scholarships to 12 Caribou High School graduates.
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| Contributed photo Kristin Plante, MacKenzie Belyea and Megan Doody are each recipients of a $1,000 Winnifred “Pete” Bell Scholarship for 2013. Managed by the Jefferson Cary Foundation (JCF), the scholarship was established in honor of Winnie Bell, a registered nurse who worked at Cary Medical Center for nearly 40 years on the obstetrics floor and as a nursing supervisor. The $1,000 scholarship is awarded to a Caribou High School senior(s) pursuing a degree in nursing, and since 2005 the program has provided over $8,000 in scholarships to 12 Caribou High School graduates. Kristin, is the daughter of Thomas and Jill Plante and will be attending the University of Maine at Fort Kent. MacKenzie is the daughter of Chris and April Belyea and will be attending Messiah College in Mechanicsburg, Pa.; and Megan is the daughter of Dana and Lynn Doody and will also be attending UMFK. Presenting the three nursing students with their scholarship awards, are, from left, Karla Bell, Winnie Bell’s daughter; with Kristin, MacKenzie, Megan, and Mary Harrigan, JCF executive director. |
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| Contributed photo Longtime Cary Medical Center nurse Winnifred “Pete” Bell, posed with her daughters Karla Bell and Kirsten Bell Albair during her 80th birthday celebration in 1993. After Mrs. Bell’s passing in 2003, her family established a scholarship in her honor for Caribou High School graduates who pursue a career in nursing. |
Mrs. Bell, known by all of her nursing colleagues as Pete — short for Peterson, her maiden name — and her friends as Winnie, was born in Stockholm on June 11, 1913. Born to Swedish immigrants, Hilmer and Anna Peterson, Winnie’s first language was Swedish. She attended elementary school in Stockholm and then boarded with the family of Norm and Eva Currier in Caribou while she attended high school. She graduated from Caribou High School at the age of 16 in 1929.
After graduation Winnie taught school in Stockholm before returning to Caribou to study at the nursing school attached to the then Cary Memorial Hospital. After completing nursing school, she moved out of the area to work but returned to begin her lengthy career as a nurse at Cary Memorial Hospital. On Dec. 31, 1948, Winnie married Merle (Mike) Bell in Canada with Ned and Hazel Townsend, close friends at the time, as witnesses.
Winnie’s career would last for more than 40 years. She worked both as a nurse on the maternity unit and, late in her career, in the operating room. Doris Gagnon, RN, retired Cary nurse who managed surgical services at Cary Medical Center for many years and who worked with Bell, said that said she was an outstanding nurse.
“Winnie was just an excellent nurse”, said Gagnon, who now volunteers at Cary Medical Center. “She was very particular about her work. When she was head nurse on the Obstetrics Unit everyone knew that when the babies were out of the nursery and with their moms no one was getting on to that floor. She took great responsibility for her newborns and moms. She might seem a little stern and tough on the outside, but inside there was a great well of compassion for her patients,” Gagnon added.
Bell’s daughters, Kirsten (Bell) Albair and Karla Bell decided that a scholarship would be a fitting way to honor their mother, who passed away in 2003, since she had always loved nursing and was a strong advocate for education. Many of her friends and family contributed to the scholarship fund, and the family has been operating it ever since with the help of the Jefferson Cary Foundation. Both daughters believe that their mother would have been gratified to know that so many young people have been able to follow their dreams to become nurses through this scholarship program.
The Jefferson Cary Foundation is a private, 501C-3 non-profit organization that raises funds for Cary Medical Center. Scholarships in honor or in memory of individuals are managed by the foundation. Anyone interested in learning more about the program is urged to contact Mary Harrigan, executive director of the foundation at 493-4849.
