Marilyn Logsdon Meredith RN, BS H.O.E.
Marilyn Logsdon was born and raised "so poor, the poor people talked about us" in Grayson County, Kentucky. She was a graduate of Caneyville High School's Class of 1965. On September 4, that same year she married her high school sweetheart, Gary Meredith and they moved to Edmonson County, Kentucky.
Gary was drafted into the United States Marine Corps in 1966 and is a Purple Heart Veteran of the Vietnam War. During his time in service, Mrs. Meredith moved into the dorms at the Glasgow Practical Nursing Program, earning her Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN). She recalls this program as the "cheapest education I ever received". Nursing students were paid a $40 monthly stipend and paid only $4 per month to live in the dorms, where uniforms were provided and even washed and ironed daily for the students. Meals were provided free of charge by the hospital.
Her first job as a nurse was at Grayson County War Memorial Hospital (current day Twin Lakes Regional Medical Center) in Leitchfield, Kentucky where she earned $2.10 per hour, considered an admirable wage in that day. In 1969, Gary was hired onto the railroad in Louisville and Mrs. Meredith worked at Woodhaven Nursing Home for two years. In 1971 she had a daughter, Monica followed by a son, Brian and the next several years were spent at home caring for her young family. From 1975-1981 she worked as an LPN at Meadow South Nursing home in Louisville.
In 1981, Mrs. Meredith made the brave decision to go back to school and earned an Associates Degree in Nursing from Elizabethtown Community College, then part of the University of Kentucky's Community College System. She passed the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX), certifying as a Registered Nurse. From 1983-1986 she served as the Director of Nursing at Meadow South. In the fall of 1986, Mrs. Meredith began her career in nursing education as an instructor at the Jefferson State LPN Program, where she also took classes to complete her Bachelor of Science in Health Occupational Education. After earning her teaching certificate, Mrs. Meredith taught pre-nursing courses to junior and senior high school students at the Shelby County and Bullitt County Area Technology Centers from 1991-1999 and 1999-2004, respectively. This program was a collaboration between Jefferson State and Kentucky State University, which served as the first 2+2 LPN to RN program in which high school students could earn credits toward an LPN and eventually matriculate into KSU's RN program. In 1996 she was awarded the Better Life Award for Distinguished Service in Education from the Kentucky Association of Healthcare Facilities
In 2004, she and Gary both retired and following several years of fifth-wheel camping, boating and fishing settled in Mt. Washington, Kentucky. In September 2021, after 56 years of marriage, Mrs. Meredith lost Gary to his battle with renal cancer. She still enjoys gardening and spending time with her children, grandson, Justin and 5-year old yorkie-poo, Benny.
"I definitely picked the right profession; I loved nursing and teaching, but my absolute favorite has always been patient care. I always looked forward to student clinical rotations because it encompassed all three of my passions."
~Marilyn Logsdon Meredith, RN
The Marilyn Logsdon Meredith Nursing Scholarship (MLMNS) is committed to providing educational opportunities to Shelby County students dedicated to the pursuit of a career in nursing, while recognizing impactful educators who have cultivated those students’ pursuit of higher education through unparalleled encouragement and mentorship.
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