Endowed Scholarships

Shannon Marie Bigger Christian Service Volunteer Scholarship

Shannon Marie Bigger was born in 1971 in Burns, Ore. The Bigger family, focused on ministry and service, moved frequently and Shannon’s circle of experience widened rapidly. The Biggers moved to College Place when she was nine years old. Shannon attended Rogers Elementary School and graduated from Walla Walla Valley Academy in 1990.

Shannon was active in ministry as a young adult. While attending Walla Walla University she served in the campus ministries program, was a deaconess and elder at the College Church and volunteered for “Kids Konnection,” a monthly children’s service at the College Church. She was also a Christian Service Volunteer on the island of Yap in the Federated States of Micronesia during the 1992-93 academic year, where she taught first grade at the Yap SDA school.

Shannon also served as an officer for Aleph Gimel Ain, the women’s residence hall club, and worked as a resident assistant. She gained professional experience working in the WWU Admissions and Marketing office, in the College Church office, and as an announcer for KGTS-FM and Blue Mt. Television.

Shannon graduated from WWU in 1995 with a major in mass communication. Soon after, she moved to Takoma Park, Md., to work as a development intern in the Foundation office of Washington Adventist Hospital. In 1996, two weeks before she was scheduled to return to the Northwest to become development director at Gem State Academy in Idaho, she was murdered in her Takoma Park apartment. She is survived by her parents Darold ’66 and ’94, professor of religion and social work, and Barbara att., director of the Walla Walla University Store, sister Hilary Catlett ’97 and ’98, and Rosemary Laarad from Yap, who joined the family in 1994.

This scholarship is awarded to students volunteering on the island of Yap.

“Live for something. Do good and leave behind you a monument of virtue that the storms of time can never destroy.” –Thomas Chalmers

George Bowers Excellence in Chemistry Scholarship

Bowers completed a bachelor’s degree at Union College in 1917. After teaching several years at two academies and at Union College, he resumed his studies and received a master’s degree in zoology from the University of Nebraska. In 1935 he received a doctoral degree in organic chemistry from the same university.

In 1924 a young science teacher named George Winfield Bowers came to teach chemistry and biology at Walla Walla University. The school had 305 students and 14 teachers. Student wages were 20 cents per hour and tuition was $90 per year.

Thirteen years later, Bowers began a 17-year term as president of WWU, overseeing the enormous growth at WWU during the post-World War II years. During this period the college doubled in size. The number of graduates increased four times, 36 buildings were constructed and/or moved on campus, the teaching staff doubled, and six new departments were created.

A calming figure during difficult and challenging times, Bowers and his wife, Clara Keith-Bowers, instituted regular faculty potluck suppers and faculty vespers services to improve campus morale and cohesion. Bowers felt that his greatest contribution to the college was upgrading the academic caliber of the school.

Bowers left the presidency in 1955 and resumed chairmanship of the chemistry department where he taught until his full retirement in 1965. By then he had served the college 40 years.

Bowers died in 1986. This scholarship is awarded to chemistry students. “He has won the admiration and the respect of all by his kindly and sympathetic Guidance.” –1939 Mountain Ash

John F. Bregar Memorial Scholarship

John F. Bregar “Jack” was born in 1923 in a Pennsylvania mining town. He never dreamed of going to college. In his community the young men went to work in the mines. However, his older brother Joe broke the tradition, went to college, and encouraged Jack to do the same.

When World War II erupted, Jack was drafted into the army. He was selected for specialized training and sent to Syracuse University. When the war ended he returned to Syracuse and married Marjorie Lanning, his “Bright Eyes.” In 1948 he obtained a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering and later a doctoral degree in nuclear engineering from the University of Arizona.

During Jack’s life, he was both an electrical and nuclear engineer, a chief test engineer on Polaris submarines and a professor of engineering at Walla Walla University and Arizona State University. Jack also ran some businesses of his own and was the manager of a real estate office. He worked on the A1W prototype reactor for the aircraft carrier Enterprise, and the world’s first full-scale central atomic power plant for civilians at Shippingport, Pa.

In 1983 he began teaching at WWU and eventually became the dean of the School of Engineering. These positions, he said, were the most satisfying of his career. “He was one individual who was always willing to help,” says one colleague. Others remember him for his long-distance telephone calls to help students and alumni find jobs.

This scholarship was established by Jack’s family after his death in 1990.

“Jack will be remembered for his inferring optimism and enthusiasm. Those traits touched people who knew him and enabled many of them, including myself, to overcome obstacles in their lives.” –Glenn Masden

Dr. Muriel Chapman Endowed Nursing Scholarship

Muriel Elizabeth Chapman was born November 24, 1915, moving from Seattle, Wash to San Diego, Calf when she was five years old.  Muriel began a lifelong dedication to healthcare when she graduated as a nurse from San Diego County General Hospital in 1937. Her work included managing and working in a doctor’s office where she assisted with home deliveries and later she made home visits to patients in the Appalachian mountains.  At times that meant parking her car and walking up the “hallow” to see her patients.

In 1947 Muriel graduated from Walla Walla University with a double major in Nursing and Biology.  Later, she completed a Master’s in Nursing at Emory University and earned her Doctorate in Education from Columbia University in 1969.  In 1976, Muriel became the assistant chairman of the Nursing department of Andrews University.  While on leave a few years later, she worked with the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists in Silver Spring, Maryland, to organize the Nursing Archives.  During that time, she gathered materials that led to the writing and publication of her book “Mission of Love: A Century of Seventh-day Adventist Nursing” in 2000.

Muriel retired in 1985, after a full career and then began her life as a missionary. For three years she lived in a leaf and bamboo house on the Thai-Burma border and she taught a program for the village health workers. She later moved to Berrien Springs, Mich to enjoy her retirement.

When asked what she remembers about her time at Walla Walla University, she responded that Walla Walla University was “my sanctuary of refuge during a troublous time.” The Dr. Muriel Chapman Endowed Nursing Fund provides scholarships for nursing students based on financial need and academic merit.  Students must be at or above the sophomore level.

A.J. and Gladys E. Christiansen Memorial Scholarship

In the northwest corner of North Dakota, A.J. and Gladys E. Christiansen will be remembered as neighbors—the highest compliment in a small farming community. The Christiansens will also be remembered as Seventh-day Adventist Christians. Their lives were built around their church and their farm activities.

The Christiansens raised grain crops and operated a dairy near Bowbells, N.D. Their livelihood and years of saving permitted them to give their two children, Susan and Sidney ’73, an opportunity for Christian education. “My parents were dedicated, hardworking people who believed in their church and who believed that a quality education was important,” says Sidney.

As children, Mr. Christiansen’s parents immigrated from Denmark. Mrs. Christiansen was a fifth-generation American with a strong English heritage.

Late in their lives the Christiansens received an unexpected inheritance and wanted it to advance the mission of the church. Sidney helped his parents accomplish their wishes by establishing this scholarship after his father’s death in 1991. Mrs. Christiansen died in 1988.

“My four years at Walla Walla University were indeed a highlight of my life and I will be forever grateful to my parents for making that opportunity possible,” says Sidney.

Students with farming backgrounds, North Dakota residents, and premedical and theology students will be given first consideration for this scholarship.

“Love your neighbor as yourself.”–Leviticus 19:18

Verlin L. and Thelma Kumalae Cochran Memorial Scholarship

Verlin Cochran was a Western Oregon farm boy who never lost his love of adventure. As he began his Walla Walla University days in 1925, he would often leave school to ride the rails around the Pacific Northwest.

Thelma Kumalae met Verlin at WWU in the winter of 1925. She was one of eight children from an affluent, well-known Honolulu family. During the next few years as many as four of the Kumalae children were enrolled at WWU at the same time. They became known for their singing and ukelele talents.

While in college Verlin worked at the Color Press and became a skilled printer. He began publishing the first newspaper in Mt. Angel, Ore., soon after he and Thelma were married in May 1928. In 1933 they moved to Hawaii where they published a local paper. They fled the islands with their children, Betty Jean and Lenhart ’59, after the attack on Pearl Harbor and eventually settled in Mountain View, Calif., in 1943. Thelma worked at Pacific Press sewing signatures and Verlin worked for various printing shops in the San Francisco Bay area.

Their marriage lasted 48 years until the death of Verlin in 1976. Thelma passed away in 1998. This scholarship is funded by their son, Lenhart, and his wife, Rowena, as a token of thanks to his parents. It is awarded to engineering and mathematics majors.

“Success is not measured by the heights one attains, but by the obstacles one overcomes in its attainment.” –Booker T. Washington

Edward F. Cross Engineering Scholarship

When it was suggested that Edward F. Cross try teaching his response was, “I wouldn’t teach for $50 a day!” That was in 1929. Eighteen years later he accepted George Bowers’ invitation to start an engineering program at Walla Walla University. He took the job, teaching for $49.50 a week.

Although it was a 50 percent salary loss, Cross had a firm conviction that the call was from the Lord. “Anything but a positive answer would place us in the same position as the rich young ruler,” said Cross. So in 1947 he left his job in New York to establish the first engineering program in Seventh-day Adventist education.

Serving as a faculty member for 32 years and as the head of the department for 27 years, Cross was an honorary doctor of engineering and professor emeritus of Walla Walla University. The school he founded has been renamed the Edward F. Cross School of Engineering. During his term, Cross supervised the preparation of plans and construction of 10 campus buildings. More than 350 engineering majors graduated under him. In spite of his abundant contributions, this dean emeritus for the School of Engineering said, “No one person could have built this program by himself.” He continually credited God, a loyal faculty, and his wife, Helen, for sustaining him.

Both Cross and his wife were honored at the 1988 Alumni Homecoming Banquet with a standing ovation for their devotion. “It is almost 41 years to the hour and day when I stopped fighting the Lord,” said Cross, referring to his initial reluctance to establish the engineering program.

Cross died in 2002 and Helen in 1995. This scholarship is awarded to engineering students.

“If a cause is worthwhile, then it’s worth all you have.” –Edward F. Cross

Edward F. and Clara Degering Memorial Educational Scholarship

Edward F. Degering attended Forest Home Academy, Walla Walla University, and the University of Washington. He earned an undergraduate degree at Union College in 1924, and master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Nebraska in 1929 and 1930 respectively. In 1930 he began teaching chemistry at Purdue University and devoted his time to teaching, research, and writing.

Degering was the author of a series of science books: An Outline of the Chemistry of Carbohydrates, An Outline of Organic Chemistry, An Outline of Organic Nitrogen Compounds, Fundamental Organic Chemistry, and The Quadri-Service Manual of Organic Chemistry, all of which were widely received.

He authored or coauthored more than 150 scientific or technical papers, held a number of patents and was a regular contributor to Chemical Condensates, What’s Been Going On, and Chemical Footprints.

He was a member of numerous academic honor societies and was a charter member of the Executive/Professional Hall of Fame. He was named emeritus to the American Chemical

Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Institute of Chemists. He is included in the 1966 edition of the American Honorarium.

When he died, Degering was the retired head of the Radiation Chemistry Laboratory at Natick, Mass.

“The measure of life, after all, is not its duration, but its donation.” –Peter Marshall

Loren Dickinson Communications Scholarship

Dedication to students has been the hallmark of Loren Dickinson’s experience at Walla Walla University. Students could always count on an open door and a receptive listener whether they needed to plan a speech or talk over a spiritual decision.

Dickinson taught at WWU for 38 years and chaired the Department of Communication for 22 years. He received his doctoral degree in speech communication from the University of Denver in 1968.

He served as the first station manager for WWU’s radio station, KGTS, when it signed on as the first FM station in Walla Walla in 1963, and he oversaw the growth of the station for more than 20 years.

Dickinson became the voice of Evensong, and with Melvin K. West, established a 35-year tradition that brought a time of spiritual reflection at the close of many Sabbaths on campus.

He dedicated significant energy to fundraising, and represented the college on the Milton Murray Foundation, a worldwide Seventh-day Adventist philanthropic organization. He promoted student scholarships by developing the Josephine Cunnington Edwards Scholarship and by promoting the WWU Faculty/Staff Scholarship.

Dickinson was awarded the Burlington Northern Outstanding Faculty Award in 1987, the Alumni Association Faculty Award in 1990, and the Education Club Honored Faculty Award in 1995. He was honored as the WWU Distinguished Faculty Lecturer for 1999.

The Loren Dickinson Communication Scholarship is awarded to freshman communication students.

“A teacher’s best work may well take place not in the classroom but in the sanctuary of the office.”–Loren Dickinson

Lars and Anna Dybdahl Scholarship

Anna Nelson was a schoolteacher and became the first Seventh-day Adventist teacher in Canada. She also served five years as a missionary in Tahiti, learning French in the process. In 1922, she married a widower, Lars Dybdahl, and her work as a teacher helped prepare her for the task of raising Lars’ six children. Lars and Anna cared enough about Christian education to send all six of their children to church schools from grade school through college. Even though Lars never went to college, he made sure his children did and he and Anna continued to support Christian education by sponsoring other young people in school after their own had graduated.

This scholarship was established in their honor by their son, Dr. G.L. Dybdahl, and his family. Their hope is that the legacy of support for Adventist education that Lars and Anna began will continue.

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”–Eleanor Roosevelt

Mary Garner Esary Memorial Scholarship

Mary Garner Esary committed her life to educating others. She began a teaching career at her former high school, Walla Walla High School, after graduating from Whitman College in 1931. In 1936 she moved to Western Washington to accept a teaching position with the Auburn School District. It was during this period that she met Tom Esary. They were married at the Methodist Parsonage in Walla Walla, Wash., in June 1942.

In 1950 she returned to Walla Walla with her husband and again taught English at Walla Walla High School. During the early 1960s Mary decided to return to college to pursue a master’s degree. She contacted the University of Washington with the idea of enrolling in the psychology program, but was advised she could do just as well at Walla Walla University. Mary completed her master’s degree in education at WWU in 1964 and was then employed by the Intermediate School District, the operation of which covered the lower Inland Empire.

In her later years she exercised her talents as a businesswoman, managing real estate that she and her husband acquired over the years. Mary passed away in 1996 at the age of 86.

This scholarship is awarded to students attending their first year at Walla Walla University.

“The secret of happiness is not in doing what one likes, but in liking what one has to do.” –James M. Barrie

Norma S. Gardner Memorial English Scholarship

Norma Nelson Gardner was born in 1913, in Bremerton, Wash. She was salutatorian of her senior class at Bremerton High School and then attended Walla Walla University, graduating magna cum laude with a degree in English in 1936. In 1937 she married Raymond Gardner, also a WWU graduate. She was dean of women and taught English at Columbia Academy before moving to Loma Linda, Calif., where her husband attended medical school.

Norma was a tireless advocate of Adventist education and contributed substantial amounts to help young people who could not afford an Adventist education. She also gave her time and energy as a builder, substitute teacher and volunteer at schools. She conveyed her passion for Adventist education to her children, Cheryl Kopp att., and Brent Gardner ’69, who both attended Auburn Academy, Walla Walla University, and Loma Linda University.

Norma was a gifted writer who wrote short stories and poetry for special occasions. Her service to others included creating a model Dorcas Society in her home town of Everett, Wash. She became an advisor to many who sought her wisdom and those whose lives were troubled.

Marilyn Jordan, in an “Introductory Letter to God,” described her as follows: “She has devoted her life to Your service, and whatever she did, she did with a gusto and generosity of spirit and resources … Her love knew no cultural or economic boundaries and her generosity and genuine concern for those in need was timeless.”

Norma Gardner died in 1993. This scholarship has been established by her children in memory of her dedication and love in helping deserving students achieve their highest goals. It is awarded to English majors.

“The fragrance always remains in the hand that gives the rose.”–Heda Bejar

Albert E. and Reta J. Graham Memorial Scholarship

Reta J. Graham was a cook, Albert E. Graham was a landscaper, neither graduated from college, neither was wealthy, but together they helped 19 students get through Walla Walla University.

“When our son left for Loma Linda University we got a call from the Walla Walla University Academy,” said Reta Graham. “They said someone from the Army had brought their little sister, would we take her? From then on we had one or two students. We let them live with us, fed them, paid some bills, helped with tuition, took them shopping … If someone had a need we couldn’t fill, we made it a family project to ask our neighbors and friends.”

“The memories are the reward,” Mrs. Graham recalled. She remembered vacations when they would load up the panel car with five or six kids, plus luggage and friends, and head for the hot springs. She remembered shopping trips with the girls, Friday-night suppers, weddings, and the many times she revived her studying pupils with cinnamon rolls.

“Taking them was a hardship,” she said, “but we’d do it all over again. My friends would get new furniture, but I thought seeing these kids make something of themselves was more lasting than furniture.”

Mrs. Graham was born in 1908 and died in 1996. Mr. Graham was born in 1907 and died in 1988.

This scholarship, founded by the Graham’s son, Richard ’56, is awarded to students who work and need financial assistance.

“If we’d put things behind us, live more frugally, and think of our children, we’d be better off.” –Reta Graham

John J. Hafner Music Scholarship

John Hafner was a veteran teacher with more than 20 years of successful conducting experience when he joined the faculty at Walla Walla University. He had previously taught at Atlantic Union College, Washington Missionary College (now Columbia Union College), Mount Vernon Academy, Emmanuel Missionary College (now Andrews University), and Pacific Union College.

At WWU Hafner assumed leadership of the band and orchestra. A member of the music faculty from 1955 until 1966, Hafner was the first to receive a key in the WWU chapter of Beta Kappa Lambda, a national music honor society. In 1985 the college recognized him for his contributions by awarding him the honorary rank of emeritus professor.

Hafner graduated from Emmanuel Missionary College (now Andrews University) in 1941. He received a master’s degree from the Chicago Musical College and attended the Julliard School of Music. Hafner passed away in 2001.

This scholarship is awarded to music students studying strings.

 “These three things—work, will, success—fill human existences.  Will opens the door to success, both brilliant and happy.  Work passes these doors, and at the end of the journey success comes in to crown one’s efforts.”–Louis Pasteur

Thomas Hampson Humanities Merit Scholarship

Thomas Hampson, renowned baritone and Southeast Washington native, first honored Walla Walla University during its 1992 centennial celebration by giving a concert for the Walla Walla community.

His benefit concert established the Thomas Hampson Humanities Merit Scholarship. Hampson returned to perform a second time in 1995, after which the scholarship was named in his honor. Subsequent concerts featuring Mark O’Connor, the Turtle Island String Quartet, Atlan, and Sweet Honey in the Rock have also benefited this endowment.

The Thomas Hampson Humanities Merit Scholarship is awarded to juniors and seniors studying in one of the humanities departments or in the interdisciplinary humanities program.

“Art as art, not art for art, must be life enhancing.” –Bernard Berenson

Richard and Georgiana Hayden Christian Service Scholarship

Richard and Georgiana Hayden spent 38 years as foreign missionaries in the Inca Union of South America. They were both dedicated to mission service and taking the gospel of Jesus to people of foreign countries.

After graduating from Walla Walla University in 1930, Richard married Georgiana Grandy who also attended WWU. Together they motored up the Amazon River to their first mission post where they worked side by side with pioneer missionary Ferdinand Stahl. Those early years were spent accompanying Elder Stahl in canoes, on horseback, or walking thousands of miles through primitive Amazon jungles visiting schools, churches, and groups of believers among the many Indian tribes. Later in his 38-year career, Richard was an educator, president of three missions, and secretary of the Inca Union.

During that time Richard and Georgiana developed a special interest in training young people to be church workers. They encouraged many young people to seek an education and provided financial assistance to students who are today leaders of the Adventist church in South America. The book From Football Field to Mission Field, written in 1951, tells the story of those early years.

In keeping with the Hayden’s great love of missions, this scholarship will be awarded to students who choose to spend time in mission or Christian service.

“I slept and dreamed that life was happiness. I awoke and saw that life was service. I served and found that in service happiness is found.” –Rabindranath Tagore

Paul and Frances Heubach Memorial Theology Scholarship

Paul Heubach was born in Winnemucca, Nev., October 22, 1908. Frances England was born in Welsh, La., January 10, 1909. Paul met his future wife Frances, at Lodi Academy in California, where they were married July 10, 1930. Both Paul and Frances began as Elementary school teachers. Paul then served as a Ministerial Intern in the Northern California Conference for three years. Paul returned to Pacific Union College for a Bachelor of Arts degree. Later, he received a Masters degree in Theology at Andrews University, and was awarded Professor Emeritus at Loma Linda University.

Paul spent four years teaching Bible at Lodi Academy. He was ordained as a Seventh-day Adventist Minister in 1939. He then spent two years as pastor of the East Oakland and Hayward Churches in California. For the next six years he was Associate Professor of Religion and Evangelism at La Sierra College, followed by five years as Associate Professor of Applied Christianity at Loma Linda University. He then became Associate Pastor of the White Memorial Church and Counselor at the White Memorial Clinic in Los Angeles, Calif. Frances also worked at the Clinic.

Paul and Frances moved to Walla Walla University in 1952. Paul served as Dean of the School of Theology and Pastor of the College Church. He was the person most instrumental in leading to the construction of a new College Church. The small chapel at the side of the church is named in his honor.

In 1963, Paul and Frances returned to Loma Linda University where he served as Professor of Applied Theology and Senior Pastor of the Loma Linda University Church.

After retiring in 1991, he continued to be active as a speaker and teacher. They moved to Mt. Vernon, Wash., in 1999. Frances passed away December 22, 1999 and Paul died February 9, 2001.

Paul and Frances will be remembered for their love of people. They both had a strong belief in the Seventh-day Adventist school system and the anticipated coming of Jesus.

Paul and Frances established this scholarship for theology students.

“To give happiness is a far nobler goal than to attain it: what we exist for is much more a matter of relations than a matter of individual progress: much more a matter of helping others to heaven than of getting there ourselves.” –Lewis Carroll

Oland F. Hubbs Memorial Theology Scholarship

Oland “Olie” Fillmore Hubbs was born in 1898 in a cabin Daniel Boone is said to have visited. The cabin was located exactly on the Tennessee and North Carolina border. Since Mr. Hubbs was born in the bedroom it could be said he is of North Carolinian descent.

A highlight of Mr. Hubb’s youth was spending an afternoon with “Buffalo Bill,” the great buffalo hunter of the Plains, and listening to his hunting stories. In 1905 Mr. Hubbs and his family boarded an emigrant train for Freewater, Ore. He attended Milton High School and Walla Walla University. In 1920 Hubbs married Lydia Price, a Umatilla County school teacher.

He owned and operated the Hubbs Nursery in Milton-Freewater for many years. Mr. Hubbs was cited in Who’s Who in Agriculture for developing a new Red Delicious apple and improving the color of the Red Rome Beauty apple. In 1990 the Soviet government agriculture department invited him to visit the Soviet Union. Regrettably, he was unable to go.

Although the Hubbs never had children, they “adopted” many of Mrs. Hubbs’ students. Mrs. Hubbs made children’s clothing during the Depression, and Mr. Hubbs secretly paid off many students’ bills. He recalled helping one girl buy a wedding dress.

Hubbs died in September 1996 in Milton-Freewater, Ore. Friends remember him as sociable, honest, hardworking, and dependable.

This scholarship is awarded to theology students.

“The gospel needs to go to all the world, and I want to help those who are willing to do God’s work.”–Olie Hubbs

Dr. and Mrs. Harold Huber Scholarship

Motivated by the importance of helping young people receive a higher education, Dr. and Mrs. Harold Huber established the Dr. and Mrs. Harold Huber Endowment Scholarship.

“The college campus was my playground,” Huber says.  He grew up in the 1930s in College Place.  He recalls his father helping with nearly every project on the College Place campus using his carpentry skills.  His father passed on his skills, which Harold used to help build Conard Hall and the library.

Harold pursued his education at Walla Walla College from 1941 to 1943 in pre-dentistry.  He later completed dentistry school at University of Oregon.  Delta (Hurley), Huber’s wife, also attended Walla Walla College and finished her nursing degree after raising their four children.

After being drafted during World War II, Huber used his dentistry skills serving at Edwards Air Force Base.  Later, he decided he wanted to settle in a farming community.  They settled in Heppner, Oregon where Harold became on only dentist in town.  They also farmed wheat and cattle. 

Dr. Huber passed away in 2012 and Mrs. Huber is now retired. Their goal was to encourage all Walla Walla Students to apply for the Dr. and Mrs. Harold Huber Endowment Scholarship.

Jensen Memorial Math Scholarship

Knut Jensen ’60 believes many people don’t like mathematics because teachers often can’t convey the practical aspects of the subject. “Very few can deliver math so that you see the beauty of its precise and elegant way of expressing facts,” says Jensen.

But Jensen feels lucky. He did have teachers who made it interesting. One who made him appreciate it was Dr. Gordon Hare. Jensen recalls that Hare let each student teach at least one lesson during the class. “I always appreciated that,” says Jensen. “It made me understand that subject much more. I consider Hare my mentor today.” Jensen left Norway to attend Walla Walla University. He received a bachelor’s degree with a major in mathematics in 1960 and then went on to the University of Washington for a master’s degree.

He worked in the computer department for the Boeing/Commercial Airplane Division in Renton, Wash., and then worked for IBM. While at IBM he received several awards including the IBM Symposium Award (an award given to top systems engineers) and a Field’s Innovation Award for inventing a way to measure productivity in local government. He is a Certified Netware Engineer and a Certified Data Processor. Jensen left IBM to establish Pioneer Consulting Inc., a computer consulting service which provides networking and software maintenance services.

This scholarship, established in 1974, is a memorial for Jensen’s son, Brian, who died in a drowning accident in Austria at age nine. The award is given annually to the freshman having the highest average in the beginning three calculus courses.

“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” –William Butler Yeats

Carl and Lucile Jones Scholarship

Carl T. and Lucile H. Jones taught at Walla Walla University from 1952 to 1976: Carl in the Chemistry Department, which he chaired from 1959 until his retirement, and Lucile in the School of Nursing, especially in the areas of community and mental health.

Graduates of Columbia Union College, Carl and Lucile taught together at Atlantic Union College, married in 1938, and returned to CUC as faculty where they taught until 1946. In that year, they and their sons John and Carl went to Philippine Union College, where Carl and Lucile taught science and nursing courses until December of 1951.

From 1952 on, Carl and Lucile devoted their professional lives to Walla Walla University. They cared deeply about the school, its community, and above all, for their students. Their home on “A” Street was regularly open to students for social occasions; they genuinely enjoyed getting to know their students personally outside of class.

The thousands of students whose lives they touched remember Carl and Lucile among their most encouraging and enabling teachers. They exemplified the best kind of teaching, so characteristic of Walla Walla University: great respect for students, coupled with high expectations and equally high encouragement. “I never worked so hard—or learned so much,” was a common reaction to one of Lucile’s courses. Carl’s devotion to helping his students master the intricacies of analytical chemistry earned him a plaque for his office, a gift from his appreciative students: “Here is the patience of the saints.”

Having struggled through the Depression years and having seen much poverty in Asia, Carl and Lucile were especially sensitive to the financial needs of students and their families. They often quietly helped out in cases of special need. Accordingly, the Carl and Lucile Jones Endowed Scholarship is established in their memory to carry forward their vision on behalf of students in chemistry and nursing.

“Let us press on, toward maturity.” –Hebrews 6:1

Helen Wineberg Kendall Women in Business Scholarship

She thought it was an elite finishing school. Fourteen-year-old Helen and her sister, Anah, loaded up their possessions and headed to Meadow Glade Academy, a small Seventh-day Adventist school near Vancouver, Wash.

It wasn’t what she expected, but Helen Wineberg Kendall ’23 stayed. After finishing academy, she went on to Walla Walla University and married her academy sweetheart, Andrew W. Kendall. Both worked in her father’s Vancouver bottling company after graduation. Later the couple built their own plant in Astoria, Ore. Through the years they invested in stocks, timber, and mortgages.

Kendall was a pioneer businesswoman and encouraged women to enter the profession in a time when women were a rarity in the business world. She was also a tremendous advocate of education. Before starting college she resolved not to marry until she received her college degree. After seven years of waiting, she and her husband were married on her graduation day.

She appreciated the moral training she received at WWU and said “the school still offers the world something very important: traditional Christian values.”

Kendall died in 1993 and is survived by two sons: A.W. Kendall, M.D., of Boise, Idaho; and Robert W. Kendall, M.D., of Spokane.

The Helen Wineberg Kendall Women in Business Scholarship is awarded to women business majors.

“God gives opportunities; success depends upon the use made of them.”–Unknown

Ah and Mary Koorenny Memorial Scholarship

 Abraham and Mary were married in Minot, N.D., on February 11, 1916. They settled on a homestead near Minot and began their family. Three sons, Robert, Ralph, and Raymond, and a daughter, Florence, were born into the family, but a flu epidemic took Florence’s life.

About this time, Abe and Mary attended evangelistic meetings and were both baptized into the Seventh-day Adventist church. When the boys were ready to start school, Abe sold the farm and they moved to Harvey, N.D. to be near Christian education.

Four more children were born in Harvey—three sons, Erwin, Verne, and Floyd, and a daughter, Lou Ella. Even though their home was very small the Koorennys helped other students with room and board so they could attend school. Abe was a truck gardener while Mary and the boys worked alongside him, growing and preparing the vegetables.

Eventually Robert and Ralph came to Walla Walla College and hauled wood for the College to help pay their way. No matter how hard they worked, however, college expenses were too large to overcome. They encouraged their parents to move west so they could live at home and attend school. In 1938, the Koorennys moved to College Place, where Abe worked on Columbia Auditorium for $.25 an hour. A daughter, Donna, was born after the move to Washington.

With tremendous determination and hard work, seven children completed their college education. Ralph and Raymond received doctoral degrees. Verne became a doctor of optometry; Lou Ella earned a bachelor of science degree and became a registered nurse; Robert and Erwin earned master’s degrees in various fields; and Floyd earned two bachelor’s degrees. Donna married Sam LeFore and together they became orchardists in Milton-Freewater, Ore.

The Koorenny family established this scholarship in memory of their parents. Mary died in 1965, and Abe died in 1975.

“Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;”—Hebrews 11:25 (KJV)

Laura G. Larson Memorial Nursing Scholarship

Laura G. Larson was born in 1908 on a farm near Herndon, Kan. The fourth child of German immigrants, Paul and Susanna Goltl, Laura’s childhood goal was to become a registered nurse.

After graduating from Herndon Rural High School, Laura attended Research Hospital School of Nursing in Kansas City, Mo., where she earned her R.N. degree in 1930. She later received a master’s degree from Columbia University in New York City.

Laura was awarded the Idaho Public Health Association’s Annual Professional award in 1964, and in 1965, she became chief of Medicare Certification, determining the eligibility of hospitals and nursing homes to receive Medicare patients.

In 1967, Laura helped to pioneer the Nurse Practitioner program in Idaho, and also received the Idaho Statesman’s Distinguished Citizen award for her work in establishing low-income housing for the elderly. She served on the Idaho State Board of Nursing for six years.

In 1983, Laura helped organize the first Parkinson’s disease support group in Idaho at St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in order to help Parkinson’s disease patients and their families cope with the disease.

Laura died in 2002 and part of her estate was bequeathed to WWU. This scholarship is given in honor of her dedication to the field of nursing, and is awarded to nursing students on the Portland campus.

“Dearest Lord, may I see you today and every day in the person of your sick, and, whilst nursing them, minister unto you. Though you hide yourself behind the unattractive disguise of the irritable, the exacting, the unreasonable, may I still recognize you, and say: ‘Jesus, my patient, how sweet it is to serve you.’” –Mother Teresa

H. Lloyd Leno Memorial Music Scholarship

For more than 40 years Lloyd Leno played an important role in the Walla Walla University music program. As a WWU student, Lloyd was active in the music program from 1944 to 1948. In 1960 he joined the WWU faculty to direct the college band and teach wind instruments. Later in life Lloyd returned to WWU with various musical groups to perform on campus.

During his 25-year tenure, Lloyd established the annual college-sponsored North Pacific Union Conference academy music festival, led a student brass choir on three separate tours to Europe, and served as chair of the Lyceum Committee. He also became a spokesman for musicians concerned about changes in church music and wrote a four-part series on the subject in 1976 for the Review and Herald.

Lloyd completed a doctorate while a WWU faculty member. His dissertation was regarded as a major breakthrough in understanding how the lips function in brass instrument performance.

After learning that Lloyd was struggling with a life-threatening disease, several of his friends and former students began raising funds to establish an endowed scholarship in his honor. This scholarship is awarded each year to a brass player. Lloyd passed away in July 1998 at the age of 72.

“No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.”–John 15:15

Mary E. Marker Memorial Theology Scholarship

Mary Bowden Marker was born in Leadville, Colo., in 1901. Her father was a gold miner in an area that was once thought to be one of the richest square miles in the world. Her mother was a courageous, high-spirited woman who raised her children with a strong work ethic and love of education.

Mary married her childhood sweetheart, Dewey Marker, in 1922. They moved to Greely, Colo., where Mary completed a bachelor of arts degree and Dewey a master of arts degree. After graduation Mary taught commerce in Greely before moving to Phoenix, Ariz., in 1934.

Mary was very active not only in the business community in Phoenix, but also in charity. She contributed much of her life to the Order of the Eastern Star. From 1975 to 1980 Mary was the licensed administrator of the Order of the Eastern Star Retirement Home which she helped to establish.

Mary and Dewey never had children of their own. However, they supported education through scholarships and funding for worthy students at the high school in Phoenix where Dewey taught until his retirement. Mary became a certified public accountant and maintained her own business until her retirement. She died in 1995.

This scholarship was established by Mary’s estate and will be awarded to theology students. Scholarships benefitting theology students have also been established in the names of her sisters, Louise Bowden Allen and Alice I. Bowden.

Mary desired to continuously aid in the education of young people. Although she never attended WWU, she developed an interest in the WWU School of Theology through Ione Allen Brunt, Louise Bowden Allen’s niece.

“The training which makes men happiest in themselves also makes them most serviceable to others.”–John Ruskin

Warren Matheson Memorial Christian Service Scholarship

Warren Matheson learned at an early age how to work hard and endure hardship. He was born on Jan. 6, 1918, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. His father died while he and his older sister were quite small. His mother worked while Warren and his sister were cared for by their grandmother.

Warren left high school during the Great Depression to work. He was a delivery boy, flour mill flunky, and a “grease monkey” at a service station. Eventually he became a Certified Master Mechanic.

During World War II Warren served in the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corp., and got his first taste of teaching as an instructor in the Corp. After the war he returned to high school for his diploma and then attended Canadian Junior College.

Warren married Hazel Kay, a registered nurse from Stettler, Alberta, Canada, in 1947. Soon after, they moved to La Sierra College (now La Sierra University) where he finished a degree in secondary education and theology. He continued his education at WWU, earning a master’s degree in education.

During the next 31 years, the Mathesons lived in various locations throughout the United States, Canada, and India while Warren worked as a teacher, school administrator, and pastor. From 1978 until his retirement in 1984 he served as a pastor in several small churches in British Columbia.

Warren, who died in 1992, enjoyed working with young people, encouraging them to do their best, to overcome obstacles, and to give others a helping hand.

This scholarship benefits junior and senior education or medical arts students who have served a year as a Christian Service Volunteer.

“The measure of a man is not the number of his servants but in the number of people whom he serves.” –Paul D. Moody

Messengers/Loewen Scholarship

The Messengers quartet hums softly, the lights dim, and Mike Loewen walks to the podium. The scene took place countless times across the world. For 21 years Loewen, former Walla Walla University admissions officer and dean of men, organized residence hall residents into a quartet that traveled and sang for surrounding churches.

As singing ambassadors, the Messengers traveled throughout the Northwest frequently, reaching more than three-quarters of the Adventist churches. Each summer they went on an eight-week tour, visiting every camp meeting in the North Pacific Union Conference. The quartet sang in New Orleans for the 1985 General Conference session and appeared in an “Amazing Facts” video in North Carolina. Another time, they sang with the King’s Heralds and toured with H.M.S. Richards, Sr. They traveled to Canada, Alaska, and Hawaii and sang at the 1982 youth festival in Finland.

In 1987 after more than two decades of performing and more than 200,000 miles of road and countless concerts, the group retired with their founder. “The Messengers served as a medium to show what Walla Walla University is all about,” says Loewen.

This scholarship was established with donations primarily from the 60 young men and women who sang with Loewen and who wanted to see the spirit of their group perpetuated.

“The goals of Christian education are still as important to young people as they used to be.” –Mike Loewen

Joseph and Beth Murray Scholarship for Resident Assistants

Joseph W. Murray was born in the mining town of Gem, Idaho, in 1903. Both of his parents died when he was very young. During high school he worked 32 hours a week in a silver mine, ran a transfer business on the side, and still had time to letter in volleyball and basketball and do very well academically.

At age 32 he married Beth A. Devereaux. Mrs. Murray was born in Kingston, Idaho, in 1917. One of five children, she worked from an early age in a boarding house kitchen. Her grandparents were pioneer Seventh-day Adventists, but her father left the church as a young man. He died in 1928 when Mrs. Murray was only 12. The Murrays were baptized into the Adventist Church in 1946 and 1947. With Christian education now a priority, they moved from Idaho to Pasco, Wash., so their children, Carol att. ’55-56 and Don ’64 and ’70, could attend church school.

Mr. Murray worked at many different jobs during his lifetime. Mrs. Murray was an office receptionist for a doctor in Pasco for nearly 25 years. The 53 years that the Murrays were married were punctuated by a strong sense of God, family, hard work, and service. Their relationship was seen by many as an example of what marriage should be.

In 1964 the Murrays were traveling to visit their son for Christmas. They happened to be on the John Day River bridge when it collapsed into the Columbia River. Narrowly escaping death, Mr. Murray was credited with saving more than 20 lives as he ran ahead to alert on-coming traffic.

They spent their final years in College Place where they were hospital volunteers. Mrs. Murray died in 1988 and Mr. Murray died in 1992.

This scholarship is awarded to male and female resident assistants.

“Their gift is not out of their abundance of wealth, but out of the abundance of their love.” –Don Murray

Llewellyn and Vivian Nixon Scholarship

It all began when a neighbor invited her to go to Sabbath school in a little rickety truck. When 12-year-old Vivian was baptized along with her mother she had little idea just how much that Lewiston, Idaho, church would change her life. It was there that she met her husband and met a Bible teacher who convinced her to attend Walla Walla University.

“Without the standard that the church puts on education, I wouldn’t have been able to go to college,” says Vivian Nixon ’44, a retired educator.

She started teaching in Everett, Wash. Her career extended to private and public schools, and spanned both the elementary and secondary levels. She is noted for her work in curriculum planning and for writing an information booklet for parents of kindergarten students.

Mr. Nixon attended Adventist schools all his life. He began at the WWU normal school, took pre-dietetics and nutrition at Pacific Union College and later studied at Loma Linda University. From 1941 to 1945 he was a staff sergeant in charge of foods in the armed services. He later established and managed a bakery for La Sierra College (now La Sierra University), and taught classes in baking and cake decorating.

The Nixons are retired and live in Riverside, Calif. Mr. Nixon still enjoys baking, cake decorating, and raising citrus fruits. Mrs. Nixon enjoys art, sewing, landscaping, and storytelling. Both say their hobby is their two grandsons, Jeffrey and Timothy.

“All education should be Christ-centered if you want to be happy and successful—otherwise it will be of little value.”–Vivian Nixon

Dr. and Mrs. Howard Osborne Mexican-American Scholarship

Howard I. Osborne was born in 1921 in Cassills, Alberta, Canada. His family later moved to California where Howard graduated from Lodi Academy in 1941. He attended Pacific Union College and received a bachelor’s degree in chemistry in 1954. After receiving a medical degree from Loma Linda University in 1958, Howard worked in family practice in Portland, Ore., until his retirement in 1987.

Monta C. Osborne was born to Mexican parents in 1927 in Oakland, Calif. She was adopted in 1931 by an American father and a Mexican mother. Monta also attended Lodi Academy and graduated in 1946. She married Howard the same year. Monta received a degree in nursing from Mt. Hood College in 1980. Howard and Monta had eight children.

Monta encouraged Howard to return to PUC after eight years away from school. After the first year was over, Howard remarked that the program was too hard on the family and suggested that he quit the school. Monta replied, “We can’t stop now. We have one year done and only six more to go.”

The Osbornes have always been dedicated to family, often welcoming other children into their home. The children were given the opportunity to further their education at Adventist schools as long as they desired.

This scholarship is dedicated to providing a Christian education for Mexicans, in honor of Monta’s heritage.

“What is virtue? It is to hold yourself to your fullest development as a person and as a responsible member of the human community.” –Arthur Dobrin

Yvonne Pickett Memorial Recruiting Scholarship

In addition to motherhood and her career, Yvonne Pickett was an active community volunteer. She was especially involved in politics, working with the National Federation of Republican Women on the presidential campaigns of Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan.

Soon after her husband passed away, her son died as a result of childhood arthritis. Seeking solace after the loss of her family, Pickett returned to the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the church she was raised in. There she became friends with an individual familiar with WWU.

Pickett, grateful for the financial assistance her son received at a public college, decided she would like to help other young people achieve a college education. As a result of her association with her newfound friends and her church, Pickett established this scholarship to benefit students attending their first year at Walla Walla University.

“People give to worthwhile programs, not needy institutions. The cause must catch the eye, warm the heart, and stir the mind." --Harold J. Seymour

Robert L. Reynolds Scholarship for Excellence in History

When Robert Reynolds came to WWU in 1968 to assume the role of president, the school was facing a financial crisis. According to Bold Venture: A History of Walla

Walla College, “[Robert] had just arrived on campus after driving across the country on icy roads, and he was suffering from a bad back. He called a crisis meeting in his living room, where he had to lie on a couch. After hearing the gloomy reports, he rose up on an elbow, obviously in pain, and said, ‘The worst thing you can do when you’re down is start to cut things. I didn’t come here to cut anything. I came to see this school develop and expand and get bigger.’” The new president’s visionary perspective led WWU during a period of tremendous growth. Known for his inclusive leadership style, Robert served WWU for eight years.

Born in Webster, Mass., in 1917, Robert graduated from Atlantic Union College in 1941 with a history major and received a master’s degree in history from Boston University in 1949. He served as a dean at Shenandoah Valley Academy and later at Atlantic Union College. He served several administrative posts at Pacific Union College before returning to Atlantic Union College in 1959 to serve as president. After his WWU service, Robert served as the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists field secretary for government relations and subsequently the executive secretary of the General Conference Board of Higher Education.  He received his Ph.D. from Boston University in 1970 and went on to retire in 1985.

Robert passed away in August 2002 in Amherst, N.H.

The Robert L. Reynolds Scholarship for Excellence in History is available to thesis-track history majors who demonstrate academic excellence.

“The very essence of leadership is that you have to have a vision.”–Theodore Hesburgh

Donald W. Rigby Biology Award

Donald Rigby ’56 was an important part of Walla Walla University for more than 30 years, serving as biology professor and dean of graduate studies and earning a reputation as a demanding but concerned educator and friend.

Rigby served as chair of the biology department for many years. Under his leadership the department enjoyed unprecedented growth.

One colleague described him as the “finest teacher at Walla Walla University.” Rigby was considered a leading candidate for the positions of academic dean and president of the college, but he consistently chose to work in the classroom. He received a Teacher of the Year award and was the Honored Faculty member at Alumni Homecoming in 1989. He also received a Burlington Northern teaching award. In 1993 the Life Sciences Complex was renamed in his honor.

After graduating from La Sierra College (now La Sierra University) in 1950, Rigby served as a laboratory technician in the Army. In 1956 he received a master’s degree in biology from WWU and then began graduate studies at the University of Arizona. In 1958 he began teaching biology at WWU. In 1964 he became chair of the department, a post he held for 12 years. In 1967 he received a doctoral degree from Loma Linda University and returned to WWU to chair the department a second time. Rigby stayed at WWU until his retirement in 1992.

A former student began the Biology Student Grant Fund in 1985. In 1987 the department, in consultation with the original donor, renamed the scholarship in Rigby’s honor.

This scholarship is awarded to junior biology majors to assist with tuition at the Rosario Beach Marine Station.

“A teacher’s real legacy is his students.”–Donald Rigby

Thomas C. Rowsell Memorial Scholarship

Thomas Rowsell ’75 was born in Los Angeles, Calif., in 1953. He spent much of his youth overseas, beginning at age 8 when he accompanied his family on a mission appointment, first to Burma, then to Pakistan and Indonesia. After graduating from Far Eastern Academy in Singapore in 1971, Thomas returned to the United States to attend Walla Walla University where he served as president of his senior class and graduated with a major in chemistry.

Thomas spent a year teaching science and math, and serving as assistant dean of boys at Gem State Academy before entering Loma Linda University School of Medicine in 1976. He graduated in 1979 and stayed to complete his internship at the Loma Linda University Medical Center where he was chosen as Intern of the Year in 1981. Thomas worked as an emergency physician in the Loma Linda area until 1983. He completed his residencies in family practice and emergency medicine at Florida Hospital. Thomas returned to the Loma Linda area in the late 1980s to complete a doctorate in clinical psychology while working as an emergency physician. He died in the fall of 1989.

“Tom cherished the memory of his years at WWU … He would have received personal pleasure in helping those pursuing scientific studies, especially chemistry,” recall his parents, Heath ’50 and Reba Rowsell att.

This scholarship is awarded to upper-division students majoring in chemistry, biology, or physics.

“The world is blessed most by men who do things, and not by those who merely talk about them.” –James Oliver

Lilah Schlotthauer Risinger Memorial Scholarships

Lilah Schlotthauer Risinger ’23, was the first chairperson of the mathematics department at Walla Walla University. It was under her leadership that the department officially formed in 1934. Before this time teachers from other departments taught the mathematics classes required for graduation. Risinger served as the department chair from 1934 to 1940 and again from 1961 to 1963.

Risinger was an inspiration to her students and colleagues and was a greatly loved member of the WWU family. She was quite active in the development and politics of WWU. It is said that none of her students ever left the school without having had dinner at her house at least once. She retired in 1968.

Risinger created one scholarship, the Schlotthauer Math Scholarship, in 1977, stipulating that it be awarded to senior mathematics majors looking forward to a promising career in mathematics. A second scholarship, the Lilah Risinger Math Scholarship, was established by a gift from her estate. In 1986 Risinger died at the age of 87.

“Some men see things as they are and say ‘why?’; I dream things that never were, and say ‘why not?”’ –George Bernard Shaw

Cecil W. Shankel Memorial Chemistry Scholarship

They were courting. It was almost sundown and the chemistry classroom was empty. The two students bent closer and closer and finally kissed. The moment was ideal except for one thing. Chemistry professor Cecil W. Shankel ’24 had just witnessed the whole event and would relate the incident, much to their surprise, in their class the next morning.

Although he was considered a tough educator and often wore a serious expression on his face, Cecil W. Shankel was always playing jokes. Those who knew him knew he loved helping students and was committed to Christian education. Alumni remember him for his fairness in both grades and discipline.

Shankel worked for more than 40 years in Adventist education. He graduated from Walla Walla University with a major in chemistry, started teaching at Canadian Union College (now Canadian University College) and then became president of Oshawa Missionary College (now Kingsway College) in Ontario, Canada. He came to WWU in 1947 and taught until his retirement in 1970. All four of his children graduated from WWU, and they all took chemistry from him.

Shankel’s children established this scholarship in his honor after he died in 1980. The scholarship has been awarded since 1982.

The Cecil W. Shankel Memorial Chemistry Scholarship is awarded to chemistry students.

“What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal.” –Unknown

Herbert Z. and Jessie K. Shiroma Scholarship Endowment

Herbert Z. and Jessie K. Shiroma owned a successful concession stand near a movie theatre on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. However, when the two committed their lives to Jesus and joined the Adventist church, they felt called to let go of their business in order to keep the Sabbath in a way they felt God had designed it. Starting from scratch, they launched into new careers in real-estate and set the goal of giving their children a Christian education. But in 1952, Herbert was called to rest. For all those looking on it would have seemed that Jessie was very alone with the difficult challenge of raising the five kids on her own. But God had an incredible plan for the family. 

Newly widowed, Jessie prayed earnestly for God's guidance in providing her children with a Christian education. In 1956, feeling that He had answered her prayers, she sacrificed all, gathered her five children, left balmy, sandy Hawaii and headed for College Place-the Timbuktu of Eastern Washington. She thought that if she lived near good Adventist schools, it would be easier to support her kids through their education. 

The Walla Walla Valley's bone-chilling winter wind would have sent most scrambling back to Hawaii, but Jessie hung in there, holding not only her own family together, but opening her heart and home to many other students from Hawaii and Southeast Asia. Jessie cooked foods that were familiar to them to ease their homesickness. She became a second mother to many-a home away from home. 

Four of her five children eventually graduated from Walla Walla College and three of them met their spouses there. Four of her grandchildren also attended or graduated from the institution. Her bold move and sacrifice in 1956 influenced generations to come. 

Although Jessie now rests, awaiting the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, we, her family, have established the Herbert Z. and Jessie K. Shiroma Scholarship Endowment. This scholarship honors her hard work, bravery and determination in overcoming hardship, providing a Christian education for her children, and helping to ease the homesickness of students who were far from home.
 

Dan Shultz Music Scholarship

Dan Shultz, chair of the music department and professor of music at Walla Walla University, came to Walla Walla in 1979 following 11 years at Union College, where he had directed the band for 11 years and chaired the Fine Arts Department in his final three years there. In addition to chairing the department at WWU, he directed the band during his first four years, and taught conducting, music education, and woodwinds, and Introduction to Music, and World Music classes, areas of great interest to him.

A founder of the International Adventist Musicians Association, he served as its president for seven years before becoming publications editor. He also served as a member of the Walla Walla Symphony Board of Directors for 11 years and was president of the board from 1985 to 1988.

Additionally, Shultz was a consultant for two editions of the primary textbook used nationally in secondary music methods classes and for two music appreciation textbooks; wrote five compositions for band, two of which were official bicentennial activities; and authored a book on music at Walla Walla, The Great Tradition, which was released during the school’s centennial in 1992. He also authored the centennial book for the Walla Walla Symphony, which was released in 2006, and is presently completing two books on the history of music in the Adventist church.

While at Union College Shultz received an award for creative teaching in 1973 and was listed as an Outstanding Educator in America in 1974. He received the Zapara Excellence in Teaching Award at WWU in 1996.

Shultz graduated from Atlantic Union College in 1962 with a bacherlor’s degree in Music Education and from Andrews University with a master’s degree in music in 1967. An oboist, he studied with John Holmes of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Florian Mueller of the Chicago Symphony.

Shultz retired in 2000 after a record 21 years as music chair at WWU. This scholarship was established through gifts from family, friends, colleagues, and former students in honor of his years of service to higher education in music.  This scholarship is awarded to a music major.

"The educator has the life of a young human being in his or her hands.  He can shape it, stimulate it, depress or discourage it.  A good teacher will put stars in student's eyes and in their souls and get them excited about the act of life, living and communicating with other human beings." -Morton Gould

Solomon Scholarship

The Solomon Scholarship was established in recognition of King Solomon’s wisdom and talent as a designer and builder, poet and philosopher, and renaissance man of his time, by the family of Noble and Elsie Curtis.

The Curtis’ son, Gary, established the endowment in honor of his father’s support of his education at Walla Walla University. As an engineering student under Professor Cross, Gary’s personal interests on campus ranged beyond engineering to studying voice, participating in many student activities, and editing the Mountain Ash. Gary’s freshman composition professor, John Waller, attempted to convince Gary to change his major to English. Instead Gary utilized his broad curriculum base to make him a more effective engineer. He found that his English courses gave him the skills to write clear technical reports which have proven to be the logical step to upper management positions that many engineers would like to achieve.

This scholarship was established to help bridge the gap between technology and the humanities by encouraging and rewarding students who make efforts to expand their range.

The Solomon Scholarship is open to upper division students in any field who demonstrate a breadth of interest and talent in all disciplines.

“In the heart of a man of understanding wisdom quietly rests.”–Proverbs 14:33

Gene and Betty Soper Music Scholarship

Gene and Betty Soper are lifelong residents of the Walla Walla Valley. Betty is the daughter of wheat farmers and Gene is the son of a harness maker. They were raised during the Great Depression so they know the value of a dollar and the advantages of education.

The Sopers owned and operated a retail leather goods business in downtown Walla Walla that had been in existence for 113 years. They are now retired and live near Walla Walla
College.

Gene and Betty have underscored the meaning of the word ecumenical. Neither is a member of the Seventh-day Adventist faith and neither attended WWU. However, both accept the Christian faith—Gene as a Presbyterian and Betty as a Catholic.

Gene is a former member of the board of directors of the Walla Walla Symphony and also served three years as board president. During this service he saw the contributions WWU made to the symphony financially and through faculty and student participation in the orchestra. Both Gene and Betty, lovers of fine music, have chosen to honor these contributions by providing scholarships for WWU music majors. Their desire to help with scholarships at a Christian-oriented college made WWU a natural choice.

This scholarship is dedicated to the music department and is awarded to select music majors.

“The mountains and the hills before you shall burst into song and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.” –Isaiah 55:12

Glenn Spring Scholarship

Glenn Spring taught for 36 years at Walla Walla University, the longest tenure for any music teacher since the founding of the school. When he retired in 2001, he enjoyed a reputation as an inspiring theory and composition teacher, an insightful teacher and performer in strings, and creative director of numerous string ensembles.

Spring represented the college in the community in an outstanding way, serving as concertmaster of the local symphony for 12 years and as a member of the viola section for an even longer period. He also forged relationships in the community that fostered a better understanding of the mission of the school and the Adventist church. 

During his time at WWU, Spring received numerous commissions and awards for composing music, an activity he has continued in retirement. A published composer, he has been recognized many times by the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers for the quality and performance frequency of his music.  Furthermore, he was primary author of Musical Form and Analysis, a textbook published in 1995, the first new book on the subject in 30 years.

In June 1991, Spring was honored by the college for both his teaching and composing when he received the Burlington Northern Foundation Award. While the list of his accomplishments is impressive, Spring is best known as a wonderfully compassionate and empathetic human being, a thoughtful friend who possesses uncommon insights about life and human interaction.

The Glenn Spring Scholarship is made possible through the generosity of students, colleagues, and friends and is awarded to a student pursuing music composition and/or string studies.

“Music must serve a purpose, it must be part of something larger than itself, a part of humanity.” –Pablo Casals

George and Lola Thompson Memorial Scholarship

George and Lola Thompson had a long history of commitment to Seventh-day Adventist education beginning with their own education in Adventist church schools. George graduated from Yakima Valley Academy (now Upper Columbia Academy) in 1932. He met Lola at Pacific Union College when they were students. Lola graduated with a normal degree in 1934 and George completed a bachelor’s degree in 1936.

After their college graduation, both Lola and George taught in church schools. In 1938 George accepted a position teaching biology at La Sierra College (now La Sierra University). During his time at La Sierra he earned a master’s degree in zoology from the University of Redlands. In 1944 the couple accepted a mission appointment at the Adventist school in Medellin, Colombia. They returned in 1947 so George could study medicine. He earned his medical degree from the College of Medical Evangelists (now Loma Linda University) in 1953. 

George and Lola’s son, Alden, remembers his parent’s commitment and sacrifice to send him and his older sister to church school while their father attended medical school. The Thompson children who attended WWU are Georgene Bond att., Alden ’65, Albert ’74, and Lorene Berger ’78.

George and Lola moved to Clarkston, Wash., in 1953 where George established a medical practice. For many years George taught band one afternoon each week at Beacon Adventist School. For several years he also taught biology during his lunch hours. The Thompsons played an integral role in establishing an endowed scholarship at WWU funded by residents of Clarkston, Wash., and Lewiston, Idaho. George retired from his medical practice in 1986. In their retirement years, George and Lola remained active in church and community life.

They died on July 3, 1997, in a single-car automobile accident. This scholarship was established in 1999 by George and Lola’s children. At the funeral the following verse indicated the hope which had guided their lives.

"Those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagle, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint."-Isaiah 40:31

Clarence O. Trubey Music Scholarship

Clarence Trubey directed the band at Walla Walla University from 1948 to 1955.  In those seven years he developed and conducted a popular group that had a loyal following.  Although known for his showmanship and entertaining concerts, he always programmed at least one number of musical substance.

In his first year at WWU, Trubey successfully led a campaign to purchase uniforms for the band. Three years later, the group, under his direction, performed a concert as part of the college’s 60th anniversary celebration. It was during this program that George W. Miller, director of the first college band in 1892, was honored and a “passing of the baton” symbolically took place. The 1952 yearbook referred to the band as “one of the college’s best musical features.”  

Trubey was a euphonium player who loved bands. While serving as principal at Shafter Academy in Southern California, he started a small group that became quite successful. Glendale Academy noticed his work and hired him as their band director. The growth and success of his group there led to an invitation from La Sierra College in 1944 to direct their band. Four years later, he came to WWU.   

In addition to his band work, Trubey also established the first music education degree program at WWU. This scholarship honoring him was established primarily through the efforts of Sydney Stewart, one of the first graduates from that program, who would subsequently teach music for 36 years. It provides assistance for students who, like Trubey and Stewart, love the sound of a band and aspire to work with young people. 

“The aim and final reason of all music is the glory of God. Where this is not observed, there is no real music, but only devilish hubbub." –Johann Sebastian Bach

Eva Stratton Vliet and Jess Vliet Scholarship

As parents Eva and Arno “Shorty” Fluhr, and Jess and Vivian Vliet found it difficult to fund their children’s Christian education. On several occasions it seemed clear that both families would have to transfer the children into public schools. However, with help from family members and faculty donations their children were able to continue in Christian schools.

While studying to be a nurse at Paradise Valley Hospital, Eva’s meager finances prevented her from acquiring a proper nurse’s uniform. Embarrassed by her shabby shoes and without enough money for a three-cent stamp to write home for help, she asked to be assigned to night duties. 

After several years of nursing she and her husband adopted a daughter. Believing it was important for her to be at home with their daughter, Eva stopped working as a nurse. Later in her life she returned to nursing until retirement.

Jess and Vivian Vliet began their marriage in the depth of the Depression. Providing a Christian education was no small task with six children to raise. Jess was a hard worker and accepted any employment that was available from operating a bakery to logging so that his children could receive a Christian education.

After the loss of both of their companions Jess and Eva were joined in marriage. Both determined to do what they could to help others less fortunate. They have established this scholarship to help students fulfill their dream of receiving a Christian education.

“If there is no struggle, there is no progress.” –Frederick Douglass

Stanley E. Walker Music Scholarship

In 1935 Stanley Walker arrived on the Walla Walla University campus as the new keyboard instructor. Twenty-five years old and a student of two former WWU music teachers, Margaret Holden-Rippey and Blythe Owen, he had started study at the age of 13 and previously taught at Adventist academies in the Portland area.

For the next 24 years he would provide a thread of continuity in music at the college, teaching theory and organ. From the time of his arrival—with his only credential being a reputation as a good organist—to the time of his departure, Walker quietly and tenaciously completed both undergraduate and graduate degrees in piano at Northwestern University. He also had a yearbook dedicated to him and gained recognition as a Fellow in the American Guild of Organists. During the last 14 years he served as chair of the department.

Walker subsequently taught at Atlantic Union College in Massachusetts for eight years, serving as chair of the music department, then taught theory and organ at Andrews University in Michigan and at Southern Missionary College (now Southern Adventist University) in Tennessee. He retired to the Loma Linda area in 1978 where he continued to play organ into his eighties.

This scholarship was established in honor of his years of service to higher education in music. The scholarship is awarded to a keyboard music major.

“Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass."- Psalms 37:5

Monte G. Wilkins Memorial Scholarship

A “Montana Boy” is what Monte Wilkins considered himself. He was born in Havre, Mont., in 1979 and lived in “Big Sky Country” until 1987 when he and his family moved to Southern California. After finishing eighth grade at Mesa Grande Academy he completed ninth grade during the summer by home study. He attended Mt. Ellis Academy in Bozeman, Mont., for his sophomore through senior years. It was at Mt. Ellis Academy that Monte began to develop his leadership abilities and a keen interest in missions as a result of a mission trip to Belize. Monte was a multi-sport athlete and lover of the outdoors. His primary interests were golf, snow skiing, and backpacking. He graduated from Mt. Ellis Academy in 1997. 

That same year Monte enrolled at WWU as a business major. He and his sister, Marci, provided the leadership for a small worship group on campus. His family was gratified to see him becoming a young man with a genuine love for God and a passion for sharing that love. 

The last summer of Monte’s life was spent at home with his family. His life ended in the crash of Swissair Flight 111 at Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia, on his way to study abroad for a year in Collonges, France. His family holds onto memories of his smile, his easy disposition and kind nature. They look forward to the reunion they will have when the trumpet sounds and the dead are raised with imperishable bodies. Then Monte will see the Jesus he loves and hear Him say, “Well done.”

This scholarship was founded by Monte’s parents and is awarded to graduates of Mt. Ellis Academy.

“Precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of His godly ones.” –Psalm 116:15

Dr. Anah Wineberg-Winton Memorial Scholarship

After a long and difficult delivery, Anah Wineberg-Winton was born in 1898 to Johanna Wineberg, a tailoress from Norway. The complications of her birth would leave her legs permanently injured and would influence her decision to choose medicine as a career. 

Anah Wineberg-Winton ’22 conducted pioneering studies with growth hormones and their effect on the body. She also experimented with thyroid doses to increase fertility among older women. Wineberg-Winton was especially interested in the study of female menstruation and menopause—breaking research for a day when many doctors still told women they were “emotionally upset at certain times of the month” and advised them to go home and take a tranquilizer.

Wineberg-Winton attended Columbia Academy and graduated from Walla Walla University in 1922 and from Loma Linda University School of Medicine in 1929. She married Alex Winton in 1940.

She practiced medicine in Oakland, Calif., for almost 40 years until she had a stroke. Her later years were spent in Vancouver, Wash., with her sister, Helen Wineberg Kendall ’23. Even then she continued to treat friends who came to her home for shots and medication. She died in 1984.

Wineberg-Winton’s sister, Helen, established the Wineberg-Winton Scholarship in 1984 in memory of her sister. The scholarship is awarded to female premedical, engineering, and science majors. 

“If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, or walk with kings … nor lose the common touch …yours is the earth and everything that’s in it …”–Rudyard Kipling