Honoring Her Family by Funding the Future at Park University

Ethel Bricker

Ethel Metheny Bricker once said that attending Park University was "carved in stone" for her sisters, Lorene and Mary Ann; her brother, David; and herself.

"We had no choice in the matter," she would say with a smile. Ethel proudly carried on the Metheny tradition of attending Park, a legacy that began with her father, Harrison, and has lasted nearly 100 years.

Ethel earned her home economics degree from Park in 1944. She then earned a nursing degree and her master's in nursing from Washington University in 1946 and 1969 respectively, all the while maintaining strong ties to Park.

Ethel's desire to give of herself manifested itself early as her education, hard work and perseverance resulted in a wonderfully successful family life and nursing career. Ethel often said that she and her sisters kept Metheny in their names to pay tribute to their father. This sense of honor combined with her generosity resulted in a truly enduring legacy—an estate gift to Park University. This gift fully endows the Harrison Metheny Endowed Scholarship, a fund established to forever honor her father and his love for Park University.

Thanks to Ethel and the Metheny Endowed Scholarship, recipient upperclassmen with financial need may now realize their academic dreams at Park University.