From a one-room schoolhouse to running a family business, Cora Stegner’s heart was always in the classroom. Stegner passed away in Brookville May 23, 2002. On her birthday, February 9, the Franklin County Community Foundation celebrates a scholarship established in her memory.
Stegner was born in 1904 in Franklin County. She graduated from Brookville High School in 1922 and went to Ball State University. During the winters, she taught in a one-room schoolhouse and during the summer, she attended the university. She was an Indiana public schoolteacher for 15 years.
From 1937 to 1965, Stegner and her husband, Harold, whom she married in 1936, owned and operated Stegner Electric from their home on Brookville’s Main Street. Harold passed away in 1963.
Stegner was community-minded and a member of Delta Theta Tau, Brookville Chapter #449 Order of the Eastern Star, Brookville United Methodist Church, Rebecca Lodge, Franklin County Historical Society, Franklin County Retired Teachers Association and The Republican Women’s Club.
Stegner has two granddaughters, Melani Truett and Jodi Walland; and seven great-grandchildren: Dustin, Megan, Nicole and Elli Truett and Jessica, Jacob and Joshua Walland.
The Cora Stegner Memorial Scholarship will be awarded each year to a graduating student at Franklin County High School who plans to attend Ball State University. Janice and Ken Landreth established the scholarship in 2002 to remember Cora.