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CONTACT:  GRAYSON KELLY, 646-1548 or gkelly1@tctc.edu

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                            5/6/2019

                                                                                     (By Lisa Garrett)

PENDLETON --- Family and friends of the late Jackye Murphy gathered April 26 at Tri-County Technical College to honor the life of a loved one and to celebrate the endowment of a new scholarship that honors her life’s mission. 

Murphy, who was a Hartwell resident and an Early Care and Education instructor at the College, lost her battle with cancer in September 2018.  Her friends, family and school family decided that establishing an endowed scholarship in her honor would be a fitting tribute to a lady who served as a role model for them and for the students, always inspiring everyone to do their best, said Meredith Dickens, Early Care and Education program director.

“We are here to honor the life, memory and impact Jackye made on this College.  She truly embodied the College’s vision statement of Transforming Lives, Shaping the Community, One Student at a Time,” said Tri-County Technical College President-Elect Galen DeHay.  “It was a personal mission of hers and it was a pleasure to work with her.”

“Jackye made every day an adventure,” said Dickens.  “She was special and important to everyone she came in contact with.  She inspired more hearts than the world knows.” 

The scholarship endowment has surpassed $20,000,” said Grayson Kelly, vice president for institutional advancement and business relations.  “Jackye left a lasting legacy on this campus,” said Kelly, who also serves as executive director of the College’s Foundation.  “Because of your generosity, students will receive scholarships in her honor.  Thank you for all you have done.”

“The scholarship endowment will continue her passion and legacy for education.  She is not forgotten. She is in our hearts forever,” said Dickens. 

Establishing the scholarship was a team effort, she added.  “I never imagined less than a year later we would be celebrating the endowment of this scholarship.  Thank you for sharing her with us,” she said to the family in attendance -- husband, Patrick Murphy; daughter Jennifer Graham and son-in-law Travis Graham; daughter, Anna Murphy; sister, Judy Thomsen, sisters-in-law, Kathleen Webb and Sharon Rogers; as well as friends, former students, and fellow Tri-County faculty and staff.

Murphy was a former elementary education teacher in Anderson County School District Four as well as Hart County Head Start (pre-K).  She served as an adjunct instructor at Tri-County for two years and received the College’s 2015 Adjunct Faculty Presidential Award.  She joined the College as a full-time Early Care and Education instructor later that year.

Murphy earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia and a master’s from Southern Wesleyan University. 

Donations can be made to Tri-County Technical College’s Foundation.

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