U.S. serviceman will live on in new scholarship at Stephenville school

Loretta Burrell, left, has donated money to the Stephenville High scholarship and bursary committee, of which Lynn MacDonald is chairperson. The Tom and Loretta Burrell Scholarship will be presented for the first time on Sunday. (Bernice Hillier/CBC)

A U.S. serviceman's story will be shared at a school in Stephenville, N.L., on Sunday night as a scholarship is presented in his honour.

The Tom and Loretta Burrell Scholarship will go to a 2023 graduate of Stephenville High School.

Tom Burrell, a member of the U.S. air force, was posted to the Ernest Harmon Air Force Base in Stephenville in 1963.

Soon after, he met Loretta Retieffe, the West Bay Centre woman who would become his wife.

Now, nearly two years after his death in January 2022, Tom's widow has donated $25,000 for an endowment at the high school in Stephenville, which will enable the scholarship to be awarded annually for the next 25 years and beyond.

Loretta Burrell said a friend suggested a scholarship as a way to remember and pay tribute to Tom.

"He was so, so good to me, well, I had to have something for him," Burrell told CBC News. "I'll be happy with that, and Tom would be more than happy."

For better or worse

Tom and Loretta's love story isn't your typical happily-ever-after fairy tale.

It was quite common for U.S. servicemen serving at American bases in Newfoundland and Labrador to marry women from the province. Many moved back to the United States after their posting concluded.

Tom and Loretta Burrell were married in Piccadilly, N.L., in October 1965. This photo is displayed in Loretta's room in the seniors' home where she now lives. (Bernice Hillier/CBC)

Tom and Loretta dated for 15 months before getting married in October 1965. They had made plans to move to California, where he was to be posted next.

Tom's service in Stephenville was at the time of the Vietnam War, and he fully expected to be serving overseas in Asia within months of his time in Newfoundland.

But a different fate awaited Tom, when a freak accident at the base gym in Stephenville led to a traumatic brain injury.

While playing basketball, Tom was knocked to the floor, hit his head and ended up in a coma for six months. During that time, he was airlifted to a hospital in Washington, D.C., with Loretta by his side.

Once Tom regained consciousness, the full extent of his injuries was evident, as he was paralyzed on his right side and had to relearn basic skills like eating, walking and talking.

Through it all, Loretta stuck by Tom, although the newlyweds had only been married for four months before the catastrophic accident.

"Day after day, hour after hour, I brought him around," said Loretta.

Eventually, Tom regained his ability to speak and to bear weight on his legs and walk with a brace. But he never did fully regain full use of the right side of his body.

Tom Burrell retired from the United States air force in 1967 after a traumatic brain injury left him with a disability. (Bernice Hillier/CBC)

Making the best of it

In spite of the limitations, Loretta and Tom Burrell continued to make a life together.

"He only had one hand, but his mind was good. And that was the main part for me," said Loretta.

Though Tom was born and raised in Cleveland and had family there, he wanted to live in Newfoundland once he'd sufficiently recovered at hospitals in the U.S.

The couple was able to travel to visit Tom's family in the United States every year, and Tom even coached a boys' soccer team in Stephenville, using a scooter to get around.

"He loved every minute of it. If something went wrong on the field, he would go out there with the scooter and tell them what to do," said Loretta.

Tom Burrell on his scooter with one of the soccer teams he coached in Stephenville. This photo hangs in Loretta's room at the seniors' home. (Bernice Hillier/CBC)

Love's last gift

After Tom died, Loretta said, she started searching for a way to honour his memory. She considered placing a bench with Tom's name on it but felt that was something that wouldn't last long.

The idea of a scholarship appealed to Loretta because it will be presented to students for many years to come, and Tom's story will be told and remembered.

Lynn MacDonald, chair of Stephenville High's scholarship and bursary committee, couldn't believe it at first when she heard about the generous donation the committee was about to receive.

She immediately made plans to visit Loretta at Stephenville's Acadian Village seniors' home,  where she now lives.

MacDonald said that first conversation in which she heard Loretta and Tom's life story made it clear to her what the criteria for the new scholarship ought to be.

"Just the determination and persistence that I saw in Mrs. Burrell, and what kind of quality of life they were able to have despite getting a pretty rocky start, and that determination and true grit, to me, that was what I felt we should recognize," said MacDonald.

"So we're just looking for a student who displays those same characteristics that Tom and Loretta did."

Loretta Burrell holds an old photo portrait of her and her husband with their dog. (Bernice Hillier/CBC)

MacDonald has invited Loretta to present the first scholarship in person on Sunday.

"Loretta will have the pleasure of awarding for the first time the Tom and Loretta Burrell Scholarship, recognizing resilience, positivity and grit," said MacDonald.

"I don't know what he would say," said Loretta. "But he would be so, so happy."

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