A Gift for the Wife Who Has Everything
Susan Landis Horrocks had always been familiar with GMercyU, then
Gwynedd-Mercy College, from growing up in the area. Despite her parents moving to Chicago, Susan wanted to stay close to her sister, her extended family, and her then-boyfriend Biff Horrocks. At the time, GMercyU had mostly female students, many of whom studied Nursing, including Susan.
“ I always wanted to be a nurse from the time I was little,” shared Susan.“ I mean, it was either people want to be a mom or a teacher or a nurse, and I just always wanted to be a nurse.”
Susan felt the compassionate and caring nature of her professors from day one in the program. They encouraged Susan and her classmates to write down every interaction with a patient, taking great care in including details. Susan shared that this process helped her later down the line in her career, where she spent nearly 30 years in the emergency room and in a school setting.
Between her studies and clinicals, Susan was a member of the Field Hockey and Cheerleading teams on campus. She graduated with her ASN in 1973.
On one of the many weekends that Biff visited Susan, he stopped by the residence hall to pick her up. Males were not allowed in the residence halls, so Biff waited in the lobby area for Susan to appear.
Biff began asking questions to a friend who had done something similar, and when he called GMercyU, he connected with University Advancement. Soon enough, Biff established the Susan Landis Horrocks ' 73 Endowed Nursing Scholarship, which he gifted to Susan in December 2024.
“ I remember she had a blue dress on and we were going to go out to dinner at Tiffany’ s down the road,” shared Biff.“ When she came down the stairs, I got down on my knee right there and I asked her to marry me.”
Even though they had discussed the idea of marriage, Susan had no idea when or where Biff planned to propose.
“ She said yes and then took off running to show everybody,” Biff shared with a laugh.
Fast forward to 2024 when Biff was troubled with what to get Susan for Christmas. He thought to himself, " After 50 years of marriage, I ' ve run out of ideas." He’ d gotten her jewelry over the years and taken her on trips, so he decided to think outside of the box.
“ I wanted something that would be special for her and would be a long-lasting thing not just to unwrap and wear,” Biff said.“ Then it just hit me one day. Why don’ t I create a scholarship in her name?”
“ I was speechless,” Susan said.“ I mean, he’ s given me so many things where I open a box and there’ s a clue. There’ s always a clue and I have to think. Sometimes it’ s an airplane ticket flying through the clouds. I mean, he does all kinds of clever things, but with this one, I had no idea. I never in a million years would’ ve guessed.”
The Susan Landis Horrocks ' 73 Endowed Nursing Scholarship was established in 2024 to provide recognition and financial assistance to students majoring in Nursing at GMercyU.
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