Angela Nance Bostelman’s grandfather set up a fund to send her to college. Now the 1995 University of Mississippi graduate is returning the favor.
With a gift of $100,000 to the UM School of Business Administration, Bostelman established the Carl Lee Nance, Jr. Scholarship Endowment to honor her grandfather while providing support for future generations of Ole Miss students.
“What do you do for a 100th birthday to celebrate?” Bostelman asked. “He doesn’t need anything at 100, and it’s a legacy I can leave for him that will hopefully grow over the years and will be something that will serve students from his community for a long time to come.”
First preference for the scholarship will be given to freshman business majors from Tippah County, home of Ripley, Mississippi, where both Bostelman and Nance were raised. It’s also where Nance, a 1948 UM business graduate and World War II veteran, owned and operated the family’s hardware store, ambulance service and funeral home.
Bostelman, an entrepreneur who now lives in Nashville, Tennessee, surprised her grandfather with the framed endowment certificate when he became a centenarian on Oct. 2, 2024.
“It’s hard not to be tickled pink with a granddaughter who gives a scholarship in your honor. She’s a doll,” said Nance who recently moved from Ripley to an independent living community near his alma mater.
“She bought all this furniture in here. Education pays,” he continued. “Now that’s something when you send a girl to Ole Miss from a little country town like Ripley, Mississippi, and she ends up able to give a scholarship. If she hadn’t gone to Ole Miss, none of this would have happened.”
Nance, an avid hunter, remembers another gift he received as a teenager: a Model 62 Winchester.
“I’ve killed many a squirrel with that rifle,” he said, and then emphasized: “I could strike a match with that rifle.”
While the gun and the endowment in his name were both nice surprises, it’s not really the gift that makes Nance happy; it’s the giver. He’s supremely proud of his granddaughter, and the feeling is mutual. They’ve been best buddies since she was hold-my-hand-to-cross-the-street age, attending Rebel football games together since the days of cars in the Grove.
“He loves Ole Miss,” Bostelman said. “He loves all things Ole Miss: the town, the sports, the school, and I do too. That’s our connection. We are both huge Rebel fans.”
Vice Chancellor for Development Charlotte Parks attended Nance’s birthday celebration and expressed gratitude for Bostelman’s gift.
“He was enjoying the attention and surrounded by cake, 100-shaped gold balloons, a framed certificate from the mayor proclaiming it Carl Lee Nance, Jr. Day. The bond with Angela was evident.
“Angela’s gift will begin assisting students immediately and continue to do so for generations,” Parks continued. “We are grateful for the way she’s helping business students achieve their goals.”
Bostelman said her grandfather has always valued education.
“He made higher education possible for a lot of people in my family,” she said. “It’s just something that’s important to him. To give that opportunity to deserving students in his region of Mississippi will make him happy.”
The Carl Lee Nance, Jr. Scholarship Endowment is open to gifts from individuals and organizations by mailing a check to the University of Mississippi Foundation, with the endowment’s name noted in the memo line, to 406 University Ave., Oxford, MS 38655; or click here.
For more information on supporting the Business School, contact Angela Brown, executive director of development, at browna@olemiss.edu or 662-915-3181.
By Bill Dabney/UM Foundation