IVCC nursing scholarship honors late Dolores ‘Dee’ Heflebower

A nursing scholarship has been created with the Starved Rock Country Community Foundation to honor the late Dolores “Dee” Heflebower.

She is the daughter of the late Anne Baker of Peru, wife of former Peru Mayor Don Baker.

The scholarship was created by John Heflebower of St. Helena, California, and Linda Gorr of Arlington Heights to honor their older sister, Dee. Beginning in 2025, it will award $3,000 annually to an Illinois Valley Community College nursing student planning to work in oncology.

Anne and Don Baker created the scholarship initially with the Illinois Valley Community Hospital Foundation. Don Baker died at age 87 in 2016, and Anne died at age 99 in 2020. Dee died of ovarian cancer in 2000.

John Heflebower said Dee was a great big sister.

“My sister was a sweet soul,” he said. “She was a teacher, artist and devout Buddhist. She had a silly sense of humor, which caused us to laugh often.”

For information about creating a fund with the Starved Rock Country Community Foundation, visit srccf.org or contact President Fran Brolley at 815-252-2906 or fran@srccf.org.