Nursing Student Receives Scholarship in Tearful Ceremony

When Harmony Home Health's Marci Willett died as a result of lung cancer last spring, the impact of her loss rippled through Better Living for Seniors, the network of professionals with whom she worked.

To continue her legacy, Harmony Home Health started a scholarship in her name through St. Petersburg College, and on Friday, May 11, in honor of National Nurses Week, the first Marci Willett Memorial Scholarship was awarded in Dunedin.

The first recipient Kim Wallingford of Largo, a dedicated caregiver, mother and nursing student, was announced during a tear-filled ceremony at the Better Living for Seniors Consortium at . 

Kim "received it humbly and spoke about her journey to go back to school while raising her children and nursing her husband back to health after a heart attack," wrote Christine Hamacher in an email. "Her words of gratitude were so heartfelt and touched everyone in the whole room."

Harmony Home Health is a family-run, Largo-based company offering home care and counseling for seniors.

The group also completed its first Relay for Life in Largo last weekend, also in honor of Marci Willett. The team raised more than $2,000 and had 40 participants.