September 30, 2014
Deborah K. Melaas Scholarship Fund to benefit female students at St. Mary’s University School of Law
The late Deborah Melaas attended the St. Mary’s University School of Law for only one year, but she will forever be a part of the community.
A $1 million estate gift of her parents, Don and Betty, has established the Deborah K. Melaas Scholarship Fund, which will create financial awards for second-year, female law students.
In 2001, Don and Betty traveled through San Antonio and decided to stop at St. Mary’s, where Deborah had attended law school before her untimely death. A friendly chat with a student turned into a friendly chat with the dean, and the Melaases mentioned that they’d like to honor their daughter by creating a scholarship in her name.
Deborah had transferred to another law school after a year in San Antonio, but her parents told the dean that she often had said her experience at St. Mary’s Law was exceptional and that she missed it.
“The Melaas family’s heartwarming gift will resonate in the lives of generations of women who attend the St. Mary’s School of Law,” said Dean Stephen Sheppard, J.S.D. “We are grateful to be able to honor Deborah in this way. She won’t be forgotten.”