Devon Waugh Memorial Fund History

In the whirlwind of generosity and strong feelings surrounding Devon’s illness and death, the idea emerged to form a memorial fund. Our initial concept—to create an award to be given annually to a graduating member of the Peru Elementary School 8th grade class—sprang from an anonymous gift given to Devon in December of 2002 with that stipulation. That first award was given in 2003, by her husband Nick and daughter Caitlin, 5 days before Devon’s death.

In the weeks and months after her death, we received contributions in amounts beyond our wildest dreams, and it became clear that we would need to create a structure for managing the fund. A group of Devon’s friends and family (particularly those with some business and non-profit awareness), were asked to sit on the board managing the fund. A savings account was opened to receive the money and, in time, a non-profit company was incorporated to handle the business of managing the money and granting awards.

Initial scholarship recipients were students graduating from the 8th grade of Peru Elementary School. Each recipient received a $150 savings bond. The receiving students were selected by the Peru Elementary School faculty, with recommendations from Nick. The prize was awarded to, “…the member of the Peru graduating class who best exemplifies the qualities of honesty, personal integrity and compassion for others,” in other words, the student who is the most like Devon.

The capacity of the fund was expanded in 2006, expanding the vision of the fund to match Devon's own life experiences. In her late forties, Devon began pursuing a career in massage therapy. This new learning and career was made possible both through her own hard work and support from family members. In the spirit of her experiences, the fund has expanded its capacity to support anyone interested in pursuing further education. Beginning in the spring of 2016, the annual scholarship recipient will be selected from a pool of all who apply, which can include anyone seeking further educational opportunities. Please see the scholarship application for further information.

Board members currently include : Nick Waugh, President; Caitlin Waugh, Vice President; Kaiya Korb, Secretary; Diane Gallagher, Treasurer; Norman Deroche, Brenda Gammon, Katie Houghton