Beverly “Bev” Stabber Warne was born beside a creek surrounded by her Lakota culture, and despite living in Thailand, Mexico and Arizona, Warne always kept her Lakota ways close to her heart.

The Oglala Lakota woman left behind a long legacy as a nurse, a mentor, a teacher, a mother, a knowledge keeper, and a powerful activist in the Indigenous Rapid City community.

Warne was able to graduate from nursing school because of her mentor, Sister Benedict. Benedict helped Warne secure a scholarship to graduate from the St. John McNamara School of Nursing. Warne was one of two Indigenous students to graduate in 1962. Because of the help and support she’d received from Sister Benedict, Warne was inspired to be the best mentor she could be for others. 

She was the Mentor for our Native American students in the Arizona State University College of Nursing as well as faculty.