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Oct. 31, 2024 4:26 pm
[Editor’s note: This is eighth in a series of informative articles regarding the scholarships available from The Greater Jefferson County Foundation.]
Pete and Fern Crafton were both lifelong residents of Jefferson County. Pete always regretted that his family didn’t have enough money for him to go to college so Fern set out saving some money out of each paycheck. One of their very favorite pastimes was to watch our community’s young people participate in events throughout their school career. They valued sincerity, dedication, strong work ethic, and lifelong learning.
Fern funded a pass-through scholarship since 2010, hinting that she would leave money for a scholarship when she passed away. She kept individual folders of each recipient and followed their progress with interest. One of her greatest pleasures was receiving a sincere acknowledgement for the scholarship she created from the recipients.
Fern passed away in December of 2020 and bequeathed over $700,000 to ‘use for scholarships’! In addition to current graduates, PAST graduates of FHS are now also eligible for scholarships
Jack Sellars was born in Keokuk County and rode his pony to school, graduating from Richland High School. He served with the US Army Signal Corps in WWII. Mr. Sellars worked at the Dexter Company in Fairfield for 30 years, and was part of a group of executives involved in bringing the Dexter Company ownership back to Fairfield.
Ruth Sellars was a longtime legal secretary with the Scott Jordan law firm. They were both actively involved in the Fairfield community and their memberships included First United Methodist Church, TTT, Lions, and they played in a four-couple group of bridge players for more than 50 years.
Although no children of their own, they were devoted to each other. Mrs. Sellars died within 3 weeks of her husband of a broken heart, according to their minister.
They did not designate a specific area or discipline regarding a scholarship, therefore in 2012 the Foundation’s Scholarship Committee created two separate scholarships in memory of these two remarkable individuals: the Jack Sellars Career/Tech scholarships, of which two are awarded annually, and the Ruth Sellars Open Scholarship. Jack’s scholarship emphasis is focused on those seeking a technical education. Ruth’s scholarship is for an outstanding FHS student with an emphasis on community involvement.
The 2025 scholarship application process will begin December 1, 2024 with a deadline of February 1, 2025. Both FHS and Pekin senior students are welcome to apply. Online applications will be available on the application website at www.gjcfscholarships.org. For more information, contact the Foundation at gjcf0758@windstream.net or call 641-472-0758.
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