Vivian Reid Mehr Scholarship

The Vivian Reid Mehr Scholarship was established by Judith Olson, Nancy Snell, Dennis Mehr and Marilyn Mehr in memory of their mother Vivian Mehr. Vivian Reid Mehr was always an avid reader and loved curling up in a remote comer of the house and reading books, youth magazines and newspapers, whatever she could find Even though the family had little money. particularly during the Great Depression, her mother found a way to keep Vivian in school and also pay for her piano lessons. Music and literature were her childhood passions. Vivian excelled in her studies und was delighted to attend Utah State College for her freshman year. Unfortunately, she had to drop out and work as a switchboard operator because her parents had only enough money to pay for her older brother to attend college. Although she understood their decision, she realized the unfairness of it and mourned the loss of a college education. For the next few years, she and her husband, both worked in the business, made many new friends and had their first child, Marilyn. Soon after she was born, they were transferred to Los Angeles, and bought their first home in the suburbs where they lived for the rest of their lives. Three more children were born during the War Years, Nancy, Judy and Dennis. Passing on her love of reading and music, Vivian encouraged her children to do well in school, always encouraging them to plan to attend college when they graduated. Still, Vivian longed for the education she never completed herself. Vivian discovered that California offered a tuition-free education in community colleges. She immediately enrolled at Compton College, absorbing her studies like a starving pilgrim on the road to mecca. When Vivian graduated, she never hesitated to enroll in a four-year college, Cal State L.A. to complete her bachelor’s degree. Not only had Vivian been able to reach and even transcend her dreams, she had the satisfaction of seeing her own children and grandchildren graduate from college and receive advanced degrees in English, foreign languages, journalism, history and medicine. Vivian left a legacy that will endure through generations.

Lois Marilyn Mehr was the first child of Vivian and Alma Mehr, born in 1938, in Dayton, Ohio. The Mehr children grew up in a suburban community with a strong sense of caring and common values. All of the children were expected to mind their teachers and get good grades. After high school, Marilyn was encouraged to attend Brigham Young University, in Provo, Utah where she majored in English and psychology. In the family tradition, she loved books and reading and chose to pass on that love by completing her Master’s degree at the University of Southern California and becoming a high school English teacher. She returned to USC where she enrolled in Counseling Psychology, graduating with a Ph.D. in 1972. It was here that she met her life partner, Belly Walker, who became a professor at USC while Marilyn worked as a psychologist at Children’s Hospital and then became Director of Behavioral Sciences at Glendale Adventist Residency Program. She and Betty published their first book with Simon and Schuster, in 1992, The Courage to Achieve: Why America’s Brightest Women Struggle lo Fulfill their Promise. In addition to her writing, Marilyn became active in the Unitarian Universalist church, serving as Board President for the UU-United Nations Office for many years, as well as taking part in social activist movements in New York City. She attributes her ambition and idealism to the legacy of her parents, particularly her mother Vivian, who always stressed the importance of educating women to the highest level of their potential.

Judith Mehr Olson has attended Brigham Young University, SUNY Stony Brook, and Texas A&M University, where she received the Ph. D in 1991 at the age of 46. She has enjoyed teaching English as a Second Language to immigrants and international students for many years in night school and in International Programs at SHSU Dr. Olson also taught preparatory teachers of bilingual education and ESL in undergraduate and graduate courses at SHSU for 21 years in the College of Education before retiring. She feels her greatest accomplishments are her 53 year marriage to Dr. James S. Olson and their four children, Susan, Karin, Heather, and Bradley, 17 grandchildren and a single great-grandchild, Wren.

Nancy Mehr Snell: "My mother was a gentle woman. She loved to learn. She was very musical. I tried to learn some degree of “music appreciation,” but due to the advent of television I wasted a lot of time. I was a neighborhood gatherer—we met outside and we played games until the parents called us home to get ready to go to bed. Later, she went on to study art—and got a degree in American Studies from L.A. Stare. She was selfless—in my mind—because she taught young children to play the piano. These were not all gifted! Some were not required to pay. She was patient and kind—except when we were arguing, and I was part of the problem. For myself, I loved learning (but I was not an overachieve,). I graduated from BYU and married soon after that. My husband & I produced seven very bright children. I actually taught high school English and took some French. I kept busy."

Dennis Reid Mehr has spent his whole life in southern California -a good deal of the time as an owner/operator of a family business. He loves reading, a trait that would please his mother. Currently relocating to Menifee, near San Diego, he will be living with his daughter Jennifer, a police officer. Both Dennis and Jennifer are enchanted by Dennis’s great-Grandson Xavier, and will find plenty of time to spend with him there.