Central College has announced the creation of a full-tuition scholarship in the name of Shirley and Dirk Van Zante, a 1952 graduate.
The Shirley and Dirk Van Zante ’52 Scholarship will be awarded to a student with a tangible Iowa connection, a GPA of 3.0 or higher, and financial need.
Van Zante grew up in Pella, where his father, Dick Van Zante, was a lawyer. Dirk graduated from Pella High School in 1948, before majoring in chemistry in Central’s Class of 1952. Central archives show that he was a member of Beta Kappa Epsilon, the YMCA, and the KEBS radio station. He participated in theatre productions and received a best acting award for his role in “The Great Big Doorstep.”
After graduating from Central, Van Zante attended Drake University and earned a Doctor of Law degree in 1955. He started practicing law at Van Zante and Klyn in 1955 with his father. While working in Pella, Van Zante served as the Pella city attorney. He and his father opened their own law firm where he practiced until 1971, when he moved to Des Moines to become the head of probate in the trust department of Central National Bank, now known as Bank of America. Van Zante retired in 1995.
Dirk married Shirley Borland in 1970 and they shared 38 years together before his death in 2009. Shirley earned a bachelor’s degree from Drake University with majors in English and journalism. She entered the magazine world and excelled, rising to the Furnishings and Design Editor of “Better Homes & Gardens” magazine in 1975. She remained in this role until retiring in 1989. Shirley passed in 2022.
Central’s full-tuition scholarships also include the H.S. Kuyper, the P.H. Kuyper, the Joan Farver, the Pella Engineering, the Rolscreen Foundation and the Thomas Ross Smith scholarships.
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