A Tale of Two Sisters

Sophie Klepey spent her lifetime helping people as an Air Force nurse and continued to use her skills in public health administration until her retirement. Her lifetime of service and devotion to her sister, Maj. Amelia Klepej, (who kept the original spelling of the family's last name) prompted Amelia to establish a trust naming Hartwick College as a beneficiary. These funds have established The Sophie Klepey '51 Nursing Scholarship, which will ensure that the legacy of the Klepey sisters will continue on through the lives of those who benefit from this thoughtful gift.

Amelia had a 26-year career that spanned World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam conflict. She graduated from the Manhattan State School of Nursing and worked as a psychiatric nurse before being commissioned in the Army Nurse Corps and serving in Hawaii. Amelia was one of 81 nurses who cared for the wounded following the Pearl Harbor attack. Her many other duty assignments took her all over the world, where she made friends and memories that she treasured during her lifetime.

Amelia and Sophie were two of eight children raised on a farm in Cooperstown, NY. Sophie, being the youngest, was often distressed as a four-year-old by her "lack of homework" compared to her older siblings. The older sisters agreed to cheer up Sophie by providing "homework" for her. Once Sophie started school in a one-room K-12 schoolhouse, she was immediately advanced to fourth grade thanks to the tutoring by her older sisters. The eldest of those tutoring sisters, Rose, is still living in New York and is looking forward to her 100th birthdayin May.

Amelia and Sophie have passed away,but an endowed scholarship fund ensures that their memory and their lifelong commitment to nursing will live on at Hartwick College.