ULM held a memorial service for Kitty DeGree Friday. DeGree died Oct. 25 at the age of 90. The memorial service was held in the Kitty DeGree School of Nursing, which was recently named after DeGree.
The service began with a special message by Rev. Dr. George Wortham of Highland Presbyterian Church. Wortham described the life of DeGree and recalled her time here.
“She took risks, she applied all her gifts. She challenged the limitations others placed on her; she pursued life and lived it well,” said Wortham.
DeGree made her first contributions to ULM, then called Northeast Louisiana University, in 1984, donating over 300 apartments. Since that time, DeGree kept up a healthy relationship with the university, donating money whenever it was needed.
“Ms. Kitty was a lady who had tremendous compassion for our students and a passion for ULM and Northeast Louisiana,” said President Nick Bruno. “In our last meeting, when we decided to name our School of Nursing after her, she told me that she was deeply honored but her main goal was to help continue the excellent tradition of nursing education at ULM.”
Paula Foster, of The Pentecostals of Twin Cities, also spoke of DeGree’s life and her commitment to the community, and Cindy Rogers, a close friend of DeGree, delivered the eulogy.
In the past 28 years, DeGree’s donations to the university have been significant. Some of her contributions include the Kitty Degree Computing Center in the Student Success Center, the Kitty Degree Pharmacy Student Resource Center/Library, the Kitty Degree Speech and Hearing Center and significant contributions to the university library and conference center, particularly the bell tower, which is also named after her.
DeGree was born in New Hampshire to a poor family. She grew up helping her family get along in a tough time, but also helped those less fortunate than her. When she was a teenager, she was sent to live with a family in the city, where she worked as a nanny while finishing high school.
During WWII, DeGree joined the U.S. Coast Guard and served throughout the war. After the war, DeGree moved with her husband to Monroe, where she held her first job as a desk clerk. After working for a dentist as a receptionist, book keeper and assistant, DeGree founded her business, DeGree Enterprises.
Rogers said that DeGree was the epitome of Acts 20:35, which says, “It is more blessed to give than to receive,” because she was always looking for ways to give what she had earned.
Bruno ended the memorial service, challenging those in attendance to remember to do their part to help change the community for the better as DeGree did.
