Tina Overton Brende Memorial Scholarship

While the adjective beautiful is often overused, there are some times when it is just the right word, as this scholarship story shows.

Ruth Christine Overton was born on April 2, 1949, the oldest of four children of Judge Paul Overton and Naomi Fredrickson Overton. Loyal to their church, their faith and each other, the Overtons were truly a beautiful family. And Christine was a beautiful child. But because she had trouble pronouncing “Christine” she soon created her own nickname, Tina. The nickname stuck.

From childhood, Tina knew what she wanted to do with her life, and she knew what God wanted her to become—a teacher. In childhood play she was always the teacher and her sister Becky the pupil. When Tina reached college age, she came to CLU, where she earned her teaching credential in 1970. With her credential in hand, she was ready to fulfill God’s plan for her life.

And Tina was a beautiful teacher. Although she enjoyed children of all ages, she particularly loved teaching the primary grades. Her hope was to instill in the children a love of learning that would remain with them throughout their lives. To do this, she brought a tremendous amount of creativity, energy and originality to her classroom. Tina wanted to be a reflection of God’s love for His children, and she more than succeeded. Her students loved her, and her husband and three sons did too.

In 2001 tragedy struck this beautiful life when Tina was diagnosed with breast cancer. She died in 2002. But her beautiful witness lives on through the Tina Overton Brende Memorial Scholarship. Because Tina was so loved, her family and countless friends endowed this scholarship to perpetuate Tina’s passion for teaching. Appropriately, the scholarship is designated for students of a strong Christian faith who are preparing for the teaching profession.