St. Mary’s Alumni retired all of its activities as of December. It had presented 300-plus nursing scholarships to young black women. The Alumni Board made the decision to culminate all endeavors. Board members were President Ann Thames, Secretary Elaine Rice, Assistant Secretary Sylvia Baker, Treasurer Shirley Marks and Hospitality Chair Etta Spencer.
St. Mary’s Infirmary School of Nursing was the only black Catholic nursing school in the nation. In 1936, the alumni had its first graduating class, including Audrey Rivers (now approaching her 100th birthday in September) and Eunice Lane, who was the first black X-ray technician in Missouri. More than 300 registered nurses have been counted as alumni, including Sister Mary Antona Ebo, who participated in the March on Selma. The group’s legacy continues in the street name “St. Mary’s Infirmary Nurses Lane.”