Willie Osbourne admits he was smitten at first sight.

There was something undeniably special about Eileen Oxendine, something that made it clear his life wouldn’t be complete without her by his side.

“She was gracious and kind and had this smile that lit up a room,” Osbourne said. “Eileen had this way of helping people and everyone loved her. It was impossible not to.”

By chance, the two met on the Fourth of July weekend of 1963, but the 58-year union that followed was defined by pure devotion, dedication and a shared belief that you should always leave things better than you found them.

And it is Osbourne’s dedication to his late wife’s memory and legacy led to his recent $300,000 gift establishing The Willie & Eileen Oxendine Osbourne Endowed Nursing Scholarship at The University of North Carolina at Pembroke. The scholarship supports full-time nursing students from North Carolina, with first preference for students from Robeson and Columbus counties.

Three UNCP students—Shekinah Lennon, Lauren Locklear and Hanna Jacobs— are the inaugural recipients.

Eileen died in 2022 following a 17-year battle with multiple myeloma. Osbourne said the scholarship is his way of honoring her memory and paying tribute to the healthcare providers who supported the couple throughout Eileen’s illness.

“I hope the students who receive this scholarship will care for their patients with the same compassion Eileen felt from her nurses,” Osbourne said.

Students like Lennon, a third-year nursing student from Fairmont who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 12. Lennon says her life experience led her to pursue a career in nursing.

“I’ve had a lot of patients who have lost limbs due to uncontrolled diabetes, so I feel like it would benefit those patients if they were being treated by someone who understands what they are going through,” said Lennon, who is also gaining valuable field experience as a certified nursing assistant. “I am very grateful for this scholarship and thankful to the Osbourne family.”

Growing up, scholarship recipient Lauren Locklear developed a passion for nursing after helping to care for three of her great-grandparents. All three lost their battle with cancer within months of one another in 2019.

“Pitching in to be their caregiver during their final days instilled the desire to go into the nursing field,” said Locklear, a sophomore from Pembroke. “This scholarship means a lot to me and will allow me to achieve my dream. The family could have given their money to any organization, but they chose UNCP, and it’s an honor and a blessing to be among the first recipients of this scholarship.”

A True Partnership

Eileen Oxendine grew up in Robeson County, near the UNCP campus––known then as Pembroke State College.

Raised with a strong work ethic, Eileen worked various jobs throughout the years, including an 18-year career with Black & Decker, beginning in 1968 when the company opened a plant in Fayetteville. When Willie’s work led the couple to relocate to Florence, S.C., in 1986, Eileen coordinated their move, left her job with Black & Decker and played a vital role in the two businesses the Osbournes ran out of their home.

A person of deep faith, Eileen became active with the choir in their local church. She was also very health conscious. In addition to being a runner—some days, she ran up to 10 miles—she was a stickler about her diet. “I eat fatback, hamburgers, lima beans, all that stuff,” Osbourne said, “but she didn’t eat it. For breakfast, she’d eat nuts, oatmeal and blueberries. She would get blueberries here locally and freeze them, and we figured out once that she ate about 20 gallons of blueberries in a year.” Her focus on health made Eileen’s cancer diagnosis in 2005 even more of a surprise.

Help Fighting the Battle

Crawling under her desk to rearrange the cords to her computer, Eileen thought she’d twisted the wrong way and done something to her back. But when the pain didn’t go away and instead got worse, the Osbournes sought help.

Several months of X-rays and scans revealed nothing, but the pain persisted and became more severe. Finally, blood tests showed the culprit: multiple myeloma, a cancer of the bone marrow that often causes bone fractures.

“She had collapsed vertebrae in her back and her ribs were cracked, all due to the disease,” Willie said. “That’s what was causing her pain.”

Giving Eileen a life expectancy of 12-18 months, local doctors recommended the Osbournes travel to Little Rock, Arkansas, to consult with one of the world’s leading treatment centers for the disease. Eileen withstood rounds of chemotherapy to prepare for a stem cell transplant that was ultimately successful. A total of 44 trips to Arkansas would follow over the years as Eileen defied her initial prognosis, keeping the disease at bay through regular visits not only to the Arkansas hospital but to local clinics that helped monitor her case.

The Osbournes quickly recognized the role nurses played in Eileen’s care.

“Those nurses can make it or break it,” Osbourne said. “They’re the front line and make the biggest impression on the patient. There were several nurses she got quite close to. They would look after her and take special care of her. They did little things to make her appointments easier, like getting a bed for her when she got treatments or platelets.”

Throughout her illness, Willie and Eileen discussed doing something that would recognize the help she received from the medical providers caring for her, especially nurses. Though they never developed a specific plan before her death in June 2022, Osbourne believes she would be pleased with the scholarship.

“She’d be happy,” Osbourne says. “She would be proud that it is helping local students who are future nurses. Doing it at UNC Pembroke will make a difference and have the greatest impact.”

Last week, the UNC Pembroke Board of Trustees voted unanimously to name a highly visible area of the Weinstein Health Sciences Building, the Willie & Eileen Oxendine Osbourne Experiential Learning Suite at the McKenzie-Elliott School of Nursing.

The naming means Eileen’s legacy will live on in perpetuity.

“The legacy of Willie and Eileen is built on love, dedication, and a deep commitment to helping others,” Chancellor Robin Gary Cummings said. “With this generous gift, they are not only honoring Eileen’s memory but also touching the lives of future nurses who will carry forward the compassion she lived by. Their name will always hold a special place at UNC Pembroke, inspiring our students to leave their own lasting impact on the world.”

Editor’s note: This story was pulled form the UNCP press page. Find the full story on their website here.