St. Petersburg College: Beloved Educator Remembered With Dedication Ceremony

Press release from the St. Petersburg College:

2021-06-30

Family members, close friends, and former colleagues of the late Catherine Holmes Crumbs gathered at the St. Petersburg College (SPC) Health Education Center (HEC) on Monday, June 28, 2021 to dedicate the nursing skills lab in her name.

Crumbs was a clinical instructor with the SPC College of Nursing from 1990 until her retirement in 2013. But according to her peers and students, Mrs. Crumbs was much more than just a teacher. She was an inspiration who pushed everyone to be the best version of themselves, even continuing to tutor students after she had retired.

Speakers at the dedication ceremony were quick to extoll her many graces, as well as the fierce way she helped those she cared about.

“Anyone who knew Sister Crumbs knew that if she loved you, she gave you an assignment. She put you to work,” said Reverend Brian Brown, pastor for St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church. “She taught you that every day you have worth and every day you have value.”

Other speakers included Dr. Eric Carver, Provost of HEC, Dr. Latiena Williams, Clinical Nursing Professor at the University of South Florida, James O. Simmons, former CEO of the Pinellas County Urban League (PCUL), Watson Haynes, current CEO and President of PCUL, and Dr. Tonjua Williams, President of SPC.

Williams spoke fondly of her friendship with Crumbs, whom she worked alongside when Williams was an academic advisor at HEC in the early 90s.

“I would not be who I am in this role if she was not who she was in hers,” said Dr. Williams.

SPC nursing graduate Aniyah Willis (’21) also spoke at the event and was named the first-ever recipient of the Catherine Holmes Crumbs Memorial Scholarship. The award was presented to her by Crumbs’ granddaughter, LaPorsha Crumbs, who is also a nurse and an SPC alum. LaPorsha now works at SPC in the College of Nursing and had the honor of officially unveiling the nursing skills lab dedicated in her grandmother’s name.

“There are thousands of people walking the halls of hospitals and teaching at this college because of Mrs. Crumbs,” said Dr. Williams. “Her legacy will live on through this program and its students.”

To learn more about the SPC College of Nursing, visit spcollege.edu/nursing.

This press release was produced by the St. Petersburg College. The views expressed here are the author’s own.