Jarvis and Mary Jo Ryals Endowed Scholarship for Nursing Established at Colorado State University Pueblo Foundation
Release Date: August 04, 2020
PUEBLO – Dr. Jarvis and Mary Jo Ryals have established the Jarvis and Mary Jo Ryals Endowed Scholarship for Nursing at Colorado State University Pueblo Foundation. The purpose of this endowed fund is to provide scholarship assistance to CSU Pueblo students pursuing their degree in nursing.
Dr. Jarvis Ryals is a retired neurologist, originally from Alabama. He practiced medicine for 31 years, 28 years in Pueblo at both St. Mary-Corwin and Parkview medical centers. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa in 1961, and his M.D. degree from the Medical College of Alabama in Birmingham in 1965. Dr. Ryals is still a very avid Crimson Tide football fan.
Mary Jo Ryals earned her registered nurse degree from St. Mary's School of Nursing in Rochester, Minnesota. She worked in the nursing field for many years including serving as the head nurse of Intensive Coronary Care at St. Mary's Hospital, Duluth, Minnesota. She moved to Pueblo and was a patient care coordinator at Parkview Medical Center, where she met Jarvis. Already parents of two children each, they married in 1983 and had two more children.
“Dr. and Mrs. Ryals are two of the kindest individuals I know and they both have a heart of gold,” said Todd Kelly, president/CEO for the CSU Pueblo Foundation. “They have been instrumental in providing educational opportunities for nursing students in Pueblo and their passion for ensuring quality healthcare is available in Pueblo and southern Colorado will be carried out through this scholarship.”
In addition to contributing very generously to CSU Pueblo, Dr. and Mrs. Jarvis Ryals have been generous benefactors of the Pueblo Symphony, Colorado MusicFest, the Nature Center and the Sangre de Cristo Arts and Conference Center where the Ryals Family Library was established.
In 2006, Dr. and Mrs. Ryals were inducted to the Pueblo Community College Hall of Fame. In 2004, the Pueblo Chamber of Commerce honored Dr. and Mrs. Ryals by naming them Citizens of the Year. In 2003, they received the President's Medallion for Distinguished Service to the University at Colorado State University Pueblo.
The Jarvis and Mary Jo Ryals Scholarship for Nursing is a merit-based scholarship available to a students accepted into the CSU Pueblo nursing program and remain in good-standing with the department and university.
For more information, please call Sandy Lundahl, director of foundation scholarships at the CSU Pueblo Foundation, at (719) 549-2380.
