Secretary sets up trust fund to benefit average students

Melba Bollinger knew that star students with sky-high ACT scores aren't the ones who struggle to get scholarships to pay for college. Before she died last May at age 94, the retired secretary set up a $325,000 trust that will help those she felt needed it most: the simply average.

The Melba Bollinger Scholarship is an endowment to be used each year to give five to 10 average graduating seniors at Woodland High School in Marble Hill, Mo., money to go to college or vocational school.

"The idea behind the trust is to give average students a chance," said Woodland superintendent Dennis Parham. "We think that's great. There's not always a lot of money for students like that."

Bollinger graduated from Will Mayfield College in Marble Hill and taught grade school in Dunklin and Bollinger counties, Parham said. She then worked as a secretary for the Angelico Uniform Co. in St. Louis for 47 years.

She moved to Jackson Manor in 2001 and died May 16, 2004.

Parham said the first disbursement of scholarship funds will be made to the Woodland graduating class of 2005. Annual interest from the endowment will be used to fund the scholarships.

Parham said conservative estimates are that $15,000 to $17,000 will be available each year. That money will be divided between those who meet eligibility requirements.

To be considered for the scholarship, applicants must be students in good standing at Woodland High School, have an ACT composite score of 21, indicate financial need and be admitted for enrollment at a Missouri college or technical school. Applications for the scholarship will be available on April 15 from Woodland's high school counselor.

Generally, scholarships require an ACT score of at least 24, and some require scores closer to 32, Parham said.

"If you make a 21, there's no scholarship money," he said. "But just because you make a 21 doesn't mean you won't be a good college student or that you won't succeed."

Those who knew Bollinger weren't surprised to learn of her generosity.

"That's the kind of person she was," said Marlene Wilson, who works in social services at Jackson Manor. "She was a very caring, just a real loving-type person. She was always concerned for the other residents. So it didn't surprise me that she wanted to help others."

Jerry M. Dockins and his wife, Idell, were both friends with Bollinger. In fact, Jerry Dockins had power of attorney over Bollinger's financial affairs.

Idell Dockins wasn't shocked to find out how much money a retired secretary had.

"All you have to do is save and pay yourself first," she said. "You can't take it to the grave, and she wanted to do something to help. She knew if we don't put enough people through school, what are they going to become?"

Bollinger's financial adviser, Steve Elefson, said she had a Depression-era mindset.

"Those people sacrificed," he said. "Anybody who has had any experience with people who lived through the Depression knows that they knew how to save. Everything I knew about Melba indicated she was that type of person."

smoyers@semissourian.com

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