Dr. Dwight Chester Nelson Scholarship

In memory of her first husband, Dorothy Nelson McFarland has established the Dr. D. Chester Nelson Scholarship Fund. Students from Kenya will receive top priority for this scholarship.

Dorothy’s interest in international students evolved naturally out of her missionary experiences. In 1937, she and “Chet” and son Eddie went to China to serve as medical missionaries. They worked in a remote village that was a 10-day walk into the jungle from the nearest motor road.

Tragically, Dr. Nelson drowned in 1941 while enroute to one of the leper villages they cared for, leaving Dorothy with their three young children. After his death she returned to the states with Edward, Carolyn, and Dwight. The trip home was an adventure in itself as they had to pass through war zones, and they arrived in the states five weeks before Pearl Harbor.

Dorothy had received her nurses training earlier in La 3unta, Colorado, but she came to Goshen College in the fall of 1942 to pursue her B.S. in nursing. She was one of the first two nurses to be granted that degree at GC.

Dorothy then worked as the Goshen Community Schools’ Director of Hea1th Service from 1944 until 1977. However, she found time to be both a student and a teacher during this period. She earned her master’s degree from Case Western Reserve University, arid was the instructor in public health nursing at GC for two years

Dorothy was married to Bob McFarland in 1961 and they enjoyed 10 years together until his death in 1971.

In 1977, Dorothy retired from her position with the Goshen Community Schools She had received an invitation from a native Kenyan church to work in its dispensary. Her two-year term of volunteer service the rural “bush country” of Kenya stretched into five years. She initiated an immunization program, “doctored” sick people, helped oversee the building of a Gituru Health Centre, delivered babies, taught mothers classes, and trained health aides. The years in Kenya were good ones for Dorothy arid she remembers that time with great fondness.

Dorothy continues to be very active in community and church affairs. Some weeks she volunteers as many as 40 hours. She also maintains regular contact with her Kenyan friends, corresponding regularly with many of them.

When asked why she chose to establish this scholarship fund, Dorothy explained, “There are students in Kenya with good minds who deserve to have the opportunity to develop their minds to their highest potential. However, because of very limited financial resources it isn’t possible for them to continue their education without assistance. For years I’ve wanted to make a gift to Goshen College. I think there is no better college in the United States for a liberal arts education. I want to be a good steward of the blessings God has entrusted to me. For me this means that I enjoy sharing with others all that I am or have. Time, a few talents, a few possessions.”