Oseola McCarty

Oseola McCarty inspired many of us with her generous donation of $150,000 to the University of Southern Mississippi. While this may not have been the largest single donation the school ever had received, she had saved the money over the course of her lifetime from her modest earnings ironing other people's clothes.

Oseola McCarty (March 7, 1908 - September 26, 1999), local washerwoman in Hattiesburg, Mississippi who became the University of Southern Mississippi’s (USM) most famous benefactor. Photo: Fair use via Wikimedia Commons

Ms. McCarty retired and had no family to inherit her nest egg, so she debated how to put it to good use. Because she, herself, had dropped out of high school to take care of her family, she decided to give children of limited means the opportunity to go to college. Her donation will be used for scholarships.

To those students fortunate enough to receive this scholarship, Oseola McCarty is both a hero and an angel.

Osceola McCarty died Sept. 26, 1999 after a bout with cancer.