Connell gives large gift to Chadron State Foundation

CHADRON – The estate of a longtime educator who earned three degrees at Chadron State College will benefit Nebraska and South Dakota students for years to come, according to Chadron State Foundation Chief Executive Officer Ben Watson.

Kay Benson, center, poses for a photo with Chadron State College Dean of Professional Studies and Applied Sciences Jim Powell, left, and Chadron State College President Randy Rhine, right, May 1, 2019, in Hot Springs, S.D. Benson, a longtime friend of the late Mary “Kathleen” Connell and representative of Connell’s estate, presented a check to the Chadron State Foundation for $119,000. (Courtesy Photo)

“We are incredibly grateful for Kathleen’s gift to the Chadron State,” Watson said. “It will impact generations of future students at CSC.”

The estate of Mary “Kathleen” Connell, who died in 2018, bestowed $119,000 to the Chadron State Foundation to create scholarships for Nebraska or South Dakota residents who are at least sophomores at Chadron State College.

Connell, a native of Beaver City, Nebraska, valued education and earned all of her degrees at Chadron State. She completed a two-year diploma in 1957 and taught at several rural schools in central and southeast Nebraska. In 1963, she obtained her bachelor’s degree, and in 1971 she earned her master’s degree. Throughout her 46-year teaching career, she taught 16 years in Nebraska and 30 years in South Dakota, including stops in Oral, Buffalo Gap and Hot Springs.

She and her husband, DeWayne, a cattle rancher who preceded her in death, were musically inclined and were active in their communities.