The proceeds of the Fund are dispersed by the Wisherd Fund Awards Committee for support of scholarly activity by UNL Emeriti and to assist Emeriti or their surviving spouses to meet crises caused by health problems or other cataclysmic events.

Other monies from the Fund’s expendable income are used by the Board of the Association for the “welfare and comfort of the Association” as stated in the terms of the will.

Zelma was the last Wisherd to die. It was determined that she was buried in an unmarked grave beside her Sister Maude. Click HERE to view Maude’s 1978 tombstone. In the fall of 2009, the Emeriti Association collected funds to obtain a tombstone that matches that of hers Sister’s. The history of the Wisherd family is a pioneer story. On December 1, 2009, Emeriti Association President Lowell Moser summarized the Wisherd family history at the dedication of Zelma’s Grave Marker. Click HERE to read his remarks, and click HERE and HERE to view press coverage of the Ceremony.

Maude Wisherd
(Photo, circa 1962)

Maude worked as a librarian at the University of Nebraska from 1916 to 1955. She was awarded the rank of Assistant Professor in 1949. She worked in the library of the Nebraska State Historical society from 1955 to 1966. She died in 1978 at the age of 94. She participated in emeriti activities after the UNL Emeriti Association was formed in 1961.

Zelma Wisherd
(UN Graduate; photo, 1920)

Zelma willed her estate to the University of Nebraska Foundation in 1981. Twenty percent was dedicated to a Maude E. Wisherd Memorial Fund for the “welfare and comfort” of the UNL Emeriti Association. The original value of the gift to the Emeriti Association was more than $55,000 in 1981.