Debra Doughty with her parents Cheryl and Carl Doughty.

Just a few short paces from a side door
to the College of Health, inside a ring of orange flowers and snuggled next to a young red maple tree is a memorial stone with four lines - In Remembrance-Debra A. Doughty-Class of 2000-UNF's Guardian Angel. There's a butterfly in flight on the upper left corner.
A smaller stone also has a butterfly chiseled into it.

Debra's parents, Carl and Cheryl, created the memorial last year. Now they have come up with another way to honor their daughter. On Feb. 15, almost exactly a year to the day after their daughter died from colon cancer when she was 22, Carl and Cheryl Doughty established the Debra A. Doughty Memorial Fund. The fund will provide four annual scholarships for students majoring in nutrition, which was Debra's major.

On a recent Friday, the Doughtys drove up from Palm Bay in Brevard County to tidy up their daughter's memorial. They make the trip on a regular basis to plant flowers and gently pat in new mulch.

"The school [UNF] is something she enjoyed and loved," Cheryl Doughty said when asked why she and her husband decided to make the scholarship gift. "It's a good way to keep her name alive." She then added softly that since she and her husband have no children left, they thought it would be nice to extend a helping hand to students who can use it.

Carl Doughty, an optometrist in Palm Bay, said he looks forward to coming to UNF, although the trip is sometimes bittersweet. He tells the story of driving on J. Turner Butler Boulevard, heading toward UNF, when suddenly he started crying. "My emotions got to me," he said with a catch in his voice. "I was driving down JTB to the college and I felt her presence."

The Doughtys also intend to establish a scholarship to UNF in their daughter's name at her high school, Melbourne Central Catholic. This scholarship will be for students in any major.

"When Debra was sick, she got such tremendous support from the faculty at UNF. We knew we had to do something," Carl Doughty said. "We feel she's there at UNF looking over the students," he said, referring to the words "UNF's Guardian Angel" on her memorial stone. The Doughtys moved to Jacksonville for the last few months of Debra's life so they could be near the Mayo Clinic where she was receiving cancer treatments.

"My heart goes out to the Doughtys with their loss," said Dr. Pam Chally, dean of the College of Health. "It has been my pleasure to develop a personal friendship with both Carl and Cheryl. I appreciate their advice, humor and support." Chally also spoke of the importance of the Doughtys' gift to the University. "I am deeply indebted to the Doughty family for their support of the College of Health, especially the nutrition program. The scholarships are so meaningful to students who struggle to balance educational dreams with financial realities."

As for the butterflies, Debra developed a fascination with them during her eight-month battle with cancer, Carl Doughty said. He was told by someone with the hospice program butterflies can represent a person dying and being received into a new life by flying off into heaven. Butterflies were released at the dedication of Debra's memorial in front of the College of Health.

Each fall a faculty selection committee will meet to review applications for the Debra A. Doughty Memorial Fund Scholarships. Awards will be made once a year for the spring semester. Preference for the scholarships will be given to students who are members of the Nutrition Club at the College of Health. Debra was an officer in the Nutrition Club.