Linda Bordwell’s legacy honored with endowment

Bordwell family
Linda Bordwell, second from left, with her husband Duane, left, son Jared and daughter Julie.

Linda Bordwell received devastating health news last fall, prompting her family to take steps to honor the legacy of caring and dedication to children that Bordwell exemplified in her 32 years as a school nurse.  

During her career at Spokane Public Schools she was named the Washington State School Nurse of the Year and won the Governor’s Award twice for a program she developed on substance abuse.  

To commemorate that record of service, and to help educate future school nurses, Bordwell and her family created the Linda Bordwell Educational Fund for School Nursing shortly after she was diagnosed with cancer last fall. She died on Feb. 15, 2022.   

The endowment will help pay educational expenses toward completion of school nurse certification at the Washington State University College of Nursing.  

Bordwell was one of 37 nurses in the first graduating class of the WSU College of Nursing, which was called the Intercollegiate Center for Nursing Education at the time.  

The fund notes that her favorite part of being a school nurse was teaching self-care to students and helping her colleagues.  

Her husband Duane said that focus helped her establish a rapport with students, their parents and their teachers. And that wasn’t easy, as her job description included responsibility for seven schools in addition to various high-needs medical programs in the district.  

Bordwell advocated for the nursing profession as a member of School Nurse Organization of Washington (SNOW) during legislative sessions in Olympia. Further, she stayed active after retirement by serving in the Medical Reserve Corps as a Bloomsday nurse as well as training law enforcement and first responders in the use of Narcan.  

“Through this endowment, Mom will continue to have an impact on the health and well-being of children,” said her daughter, Julie Gullett. “It’s all about preparing well-qualified nurses that, in the end, help folks to them help themselves and those around them live healthier, happier lives.”  

Said her son Jared Bordwell, “Mom was so much more than just a school nurse to so many kids. She was a source of stability and comfort, and in some cases the only adult that truly cared for their health. We should all be so lucky to have a school nurse that loves our children as much as mom loved her kids.” 

Bordwell is survived by her husband, two children and seven grandchildren.   

If you would like to contribute to the Linda Bordwell Educational Fund for School Nursing, visit this link: https://bit.ly/BordwellSchoolNursingFundWSU