Applications for this year’s Diane Demorest Nursing Scholarship are now available at the Forks branch of Peninsula College. The deadline for submission is Nov. 1.

West End residents accepted into nursing education programs can apply for the scholarship, which is awarded each year by Soroptimist International of the Olympic Rain Forest.

The scholarship is named after Demorest, who grew up in Forks and worked as a nurse’s aide at Forks Community Hospital before working 25 years in nursing.

She died of cancer at the age of 45, but Soroptimist Cathy Johnson said her legacy is kept alive through the annual scholarship.

Before her illness, Demorest worked as a family nurse practitioner in Forks, Clallam Bay, La Push and Olympic Corrections Center in Clearwater.

Among service organizations such as Friends of Forks Animals and West End Hospice, Demorest was a longtime member and past president of Soroptimist International of the Olympic Rain Forest, dedicated to improving the lives of women and girls here and throughout the world.

After her death, SIORF established the annual scholarship in loving memory of Demorest, Johnson said, and has awarded thousands of dollars to local students who are pursuing degrees in nursing.