Vowell, Arvella Bentley

Arvella Bentley Vowell was born in 1904 in Arkansas, the fifth of twelve children. At six months old, Vowell and her family moved to the Texas town of Troy (Bell County, Tex.), and later to Rockwood (Coleman County, Tex.) She had an early interest in nursing, beginning in her childhood. Raised in a large family, Vowell saw the need to assist her mother with the younger children. Out of this experience came a strong desire to care for those in need.

In 1929, Vowell, a widowed mother of two young children, began the three-year nurses training program at Sealy Hospital in Santa Anna, Texas. After becoming a registered nurse in 1933, she moved with her children to San Antonio and began working full-time as a nurse. Over the span of Vowell's 44-year career, she served as a school nurse, private nurse, psychiatric nurse and polio nurse. In addition, she was a visiting nurse at Kelly Field during World War II, a health nurse at Trinity University and a staff nurse at Nix Hospital.

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