Tannehill Athletic Endowed Scholarship
Mary Louise Tannehill was known to many as “Aunt Mary Lou, The Bible Story Lady.” Mary Louise Smith was born in 1909 in Beardstown, Illinois. Her Christian home was filled with song, tender loving care, compassion, and unconditional love, which resulted in happy times. In 1928 she married Harold Tannehill, whom she shared nearly 61 years of marriage. Since the mid-1930s, Mary Lou and her beloved husband, Harold, proclaimed the Gospel of Christ. Harold passed away in 1989 and Mary Lou in 2007. In her Last Will and Testament, Mary Lou left a portion of her estate to the MSU Billings Foundation to establish an endowment fund to support academic scholarships for men’s basketball/student athletes. The first scholarship was awarded in academic year 2011-2012.
Impact
“I wanted to thank you so much for your generosity. I would love to accept the Tannehill Athletic Endowed Scholarship. It will sincerely help more than you know… I’m majoring in biology and minoring in chemistry, with hopes to attend med school and be part of Doctors Without Borders. I’m on the women’s soccer team at MSUB, and I love being part of a team that cares so much. I chose MSUB to be part of a close knit community that makes my home away from home so sweet. The science department really cares about me and my future as a pre-med student.” — Amanda H., Biology major