For anyone who may have known her...... http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/a...g-dean-dies-89


Jean Beattie Milligan, former dean of the University of Vermont School of Nursing, has died. She was 89.

"She was a very committed nurse professional," said Judy Cohen, professor of nursing at UVM, who was a student at UVM and later joined the faculty during Milligan's tenure as dean. "She was very much engaged at the university, state and regional level in terms of representing nursing issues."

Apart from her distinguished academic career, Milligan, who died Wednesday, will be remembered locally as a longtime, active member of the First Congregational Church and as an ardent fan of UVM hockey and basketball teams.

"She never missed a game," said the Rev. Adrianne Carr, who will preside at the funeral service at the church scheduled for 11 a.m. Monday.

"She could give you all the stats of Martin St. Louis and Tim Thomas," said Wendy Ophelders, a niece who lives in Richmond Hill, Ontario, referring to two of UVM's hockey stars.

Milligan brought a similar enthusiasm to her involvement in the church, where she served variously as trustee, deacon and as a regular volunteer in the Possibilities Shop, the thrift store.

"She was involved in so many activities," Carr said. "She was an intellectual. She was absolutely a lady, but that didn't stop her from working in the Poss shop or in bazaars. She didn't let her credentials get in the way of being a person of service."

Milligan graduated from Middlebury College in 1944. She received a nursing degree from Yale in 1946 and a doctorate in education from Columbia in 1972.

After working as a practicing nurse, Milligan joined the UVM faculty as an assistant professor in 1953, advancing ultimately to the position of dean in 1974, a job she held until her retirement in 1987.

Milligan never married or had children, Carr said, so her family really comprised her nieces and nephews. "Her other family was members of the church," Carr said.

"Her life was her career," Ophelders said. "She was very independent."

Ophelders added that Milligan traveled widely until about five years ago and always kept busy.

Ophelders said her aunt also was "stubborn" about continuing to live in her own house, which she continued to do until January, when she fell and broke her hip. She died peacefully in her sleep, at the Arbors in Shelburne.

The hope of relatives and friends is that the funeral will be a celebration of Milligan and her life, Ophelders said. She said UVM would be lending a flag for the occasion, in honor of Milligan the sports fan.