DONALD P. BABSON MERIT AWARD
Throughout his life, Wellesley resident Donald Babson gave back to the community. Taking time from his extensive business interests as chairman of Babson United Investment Advisers, Inc., and president of United Business Service, Inc., Mr. Babson served on numerous town committees, including twelve years on the Planning Board. He was a member of Town Meeting for forty years and was the 1994 recipient of the Wellesley Award for his service to the community. Mr. Babson was a Trustee of the Newton-Wellesley Hospital and a Trustee of Babson College for 25 years. In 1989 he received the Babson Medal for distinguished service and Babson College honored him in 1997 with the establishment of the Donald P. Babson Chair in Applied Investments. When Donald Babson died at the age of 73 in 1997, the Babson family decided to honor him with the creation of a merit scholarship in his name to be given to a deserving young man from Wellesley. Contributions were made by members of the Babson family, the Paul and Edith Babson Foundation, the Susan A. and Donald P. Babson Charitable Foundation and other individuals in memory of Mr. Babson. The merit scholarship is to be awarded to "a male student who is a resident of the town and whose academic motivation is strong. The recipient should demonstrate a high level of distinction in scholarship, citizenship and character as well as strong extracurricular interests and activities." The first Donald P. Babson Merit Award was given in 1999 to Andrew Ferrer. The award is a $3,000 (for current applicants) scholarship renewable for three years.

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View historical Donald P. Babson Merit Award Recipients

 

 

MARGARET E. DANIELS MERIT AWARD
A longtime Wellesley resident, Margaret E. Daniels was a graduate of Simmons College who established and operated The Lion's Den, a specialty antique and gift shop in Boston's Back Bay. Ms. Daniels was a regular donor to and supporter of the Wellesley Scholarship Foundation from its inception in 1951. She always had a keen interest in developing college education opportunities for highly motivated young men and women. Margaret Daniels died on November 29, 1976. In her will, she provided a bequest of $62,000 to the WSF and the Margaret E. Daniels Merit Award was established to be given to a deserving Wellesley girl to aid in financing her college education. Ms. Daniels provided in her will that the scholarship be created and funded by this bequest was to be "regarded as an honor and a tribute to a young person who wishes to cultivate her mind, a spur and aid to its further development.” Funding from Ms. Daniels' gift became distributable to the Foundation in 1985 and the first Margaret E. Daniels Merit Award was given in 1987 to Wellesley resident, Catherine Stickler. The award is a $3,000 (for current applicants) scholarship renewable for three years.

 

View historical Margaret E. Daniels Merit Award Recipients

 

 

DAVID L. BABSON AWARD
In 1940, David L. Babson founded his own investment counsel firm, David L. Babson & Co., which grew into one of the largest investment counsel firms in the country. Mr. Babson was a well renowned financier who held directorships in many companies, was a past president of the Investment Counsel Association of America and was the co-author of the book, "Investing for a Successful Future." A Clovelly Road resident, Mr. Babson served the Wellesley community in many different capacities. He was a member of the original elected Wellesley Town Meeting in 1934 and served for more than 40 years. He was chairman of the Wellesley Veterans' Housing Authority and of the Board of Public Works and was honored as the Grand Marshal of the Wellesley Veterans Parade in the early 1970's. He was a member and former president of the Wellesley Club. Mr. Babson enjoyed hunting and fishing and was an avid gardener. Mr. Babson died on December 14, 1998, at the age of 87. He had designated the Wellesley Scholarship Foundation as a beneficiary under his will, with a contribution being directed to the Donald P. Babson Merit Scholarship and a contribution to endowment. The David L. Babson Scholarship was established to honor his memory and the first scholarship was awarded in 1999.

 

 

PAUL AND EDITH BABSON AWARD
Paul Babson assumed ownership of the United Business Service, a fledgling financial bulletin service. Under his ownership, it expanded to major proportions. Mr. Babson was also associated with the original Kiplinger Letters. Paul and Edith Babson are remembered as modest, unassuming citizens, always easy to approach and ready to help. Mr. Babson left his mark on YMCA's over a wide area. The Babsons were active in educational circles, particularly with Babson College and Springfield College. They journeyed to many foreign conferences and received foreign honors. The Babsons were always generous to educational programs. Mr. Babson was one of the individuals involved in the establishment of the Wellesley Scholarship Foundation in 1951. In 1956 he challenged the community to raise $25,000, which he would match, to establish an endowment fund for the WSF. The campaign was successful and a $50,000 endowment fund was established through his generosity and commitment to the education of the youth of Wellesley. Mr. Babson died in 1973, leaving a bequest of $80,000 to the Wellesley Scholarship Foundation.

 

 

DAVID AND KATHLEEN BAUM FAMILY FOUNDATION AWARD
The David and Kathleen Baum Family Foundation Scholarship wishes to celebrate the recipient's graduation from high school and intention to attend college. The pathway that brings students to this milestone moment is sometimes a winding one with unexpected hurdles and kindnesses encountered along the way.  Each student's journey is unique, and the family commends the recipient's demonstrated ability to capitalize upon the opportunities presented to them and to chart a life of promise for themselves.  It was awarded for the first time in the spring of 2019.

 

 

ALICE CONFORTES AWARD (IN MEMORY OF HER DAUGHTER JACKIE)
In 1999, Wellesley resident Alice Confortes donated funds to the WSF to establish this award, which is based on scholarship, a strong sense of caring for others and on financial need. Mrs. Confortes established this scholarship in loving memory of her daughter, Jackie, who died in 1995. Before she came to Wellesley, Jackie led a fascinating life that spanned several continents. She was born in Salonika, Greece in 1932. During World War II she moved with her parents to Athens, which was occupied by the Italians. When the Germans took over, the Confortes family was forced to flee to Israel. Her daughter Jackie served in the Israeli army and as a translator in Geneva, Switzerland. She moved to the United States and completed her master's degree at Mt. Holyoke College and her Ph.D. at Brandeis University. She taught English for many years at Regis College. Jackie lived with her husband, Abe Covo, in Wellesley. Throughout her life, Jackie felt that education was the key to eliminating racism, hatred and bigotry. She believed that "education can open minds." It is because of Jackie's love of and respect for education that her mother, Alice, funded this award. The scholarship was awarded for the first time in 2000. It is a $1,500 scholarship that is renewable, with continued need, for the four years of the recipient's college education.

 

 

CAMBRIDGE TRUST CHARITABLE FOUNDATION

With the merger of Cambridge Trust and Wellesley Bank, the Wellesley Bank Charitable Foundation Award was renamed the Cambridge Trust Charitable Foundation Award. Before the merger, Wellesley Bank Charitable Foundation was formed by Wellesley Bank in 2011 for the purpose of funding community organizations that positively impact the lives around them in the communities that Wellesley Bank serves. In 2012 the Foundation directors approved a grant to support WSF’s Campaign for the Future, a permanently restricted endowment fund, by committing $25,000 over five years. In December of 2013, the Foundation directors voted to double the commitment to the Campaign to $50,000 over ten years. To recognize the Foundation’s generosity, the WSF board created a permanently named award, the Wellesley Bank Charitable Foundation Award, to be given annually to a deserving Wellesley student or students who qualify for need-based scholarship assistance for higher education.

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DAVID COUGHLIN AWARD
David Coughlin, a lifelong resident of Wellesley and a product of the Wellesley school system, graduated from WHS in 1991 and later from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst with a degree in natural resource economics. He was a management analyst with the Wellesley Selectmen’s office, primarily involved with traffic management and Town Meeting preparation. In 1999 he left Town government and was en route to UC Santa Barbara to do graduate work when he died in the Carlsbad, New Mexico, desert on August 8, 1999, at age 26. His family and friends have chosen to honor David’s memory with a scholarship award in his name. It was presented for the first time in 2002.

 

 

THE DALY FAMILY SCHOLARSHIP
Frances B. Daly lived in Wellesley Hills for 48 years where she and her husband, Francis J. Daly, raised their four sons. As they were growing up, education was valued highly in their household, according to her son and Wellesley resident, John Daly. "My parents would take great satisfaction in having their names associated with the provision of financial assistance to college students of Wellesley. Their encouragement of our education reflected both a belief in individual fulfillment and a responsibility to help provide educational opportunities to future students." Francis J. Daly died in 1989. When Frances B. Daly died on April 23, 1998, her sons determined that the most appropriate way to honor their parents and to celebrate their lives would be to establish a scholarship in their memory. In 2004, the Daly brothers decided to endow an award which would honor not only their parents, but also their brother, Eugene, one of the early recipients of WSF scholarships.

 

 

GLORIA GOULD DANFORTH AWARD
Gloria Gould Danforth was a 38-year resident of Wellesley, where she raised her two sons and was active in the Wellesley Garden Study Group, the Wellesley Historical Society and Girl Scouts, U.S.A. Mrs. Danforth was committed to the ideal of providing an education to all and she devoted her energy for many years to raising funds for the Wellesley Scholarship Foundation by organizing and running the Fund Frolics dinner dance which benefitted the WSF. Her husband, Dana Danforth, served as president of the WSF in the late 1960's. When Mrs. Danforth died on September 16, 1998, her family established a permanent fund from which the Gloria Gould Danforth Scholarship would be awarded annually. The first recipient received the award in 1999. Stuart Danforth, Mrs. Danforth's son, presented the award on behalf of the Danforth family.

 

 

MAUDE DIEHL AWARD
Maude Johnson married Frank Diehl early in the 1900’s. She worked in her family's business, the Fred 0. Johnson & Co. Insurance Agency, which was started by her father and is still in business here in Wellesley today. Maude Diehl worked her way to the top and eventually ran the business and her husband, Frank, worked with her. Maude Diehl was an only child and she and Frank had no children. When Frank predeceased Maude she made plans to donate to causes which were important to her. As a woman who worked her entire life at a time when most women did not, Maude Diehl was a trailblazer. In 1965 when Ms. Diehl died, her estate was worth one million dollars. According to her great, great niece, Wellesley resident Sarah Murphy, "Maude knew that education is the base upon which achievements are built. She spent her money investing in the future." The Maude Diehl Scholarship was funded by her gift of $250,000 and has been awarded annually since 1968.

 

ALAN M. GERLACH WHS CLASS OF 1967 SCHOLARSHIP

Alan Gerlach had a warm place in his heart for Wellesley and Wellesley High School (WHS) throughout his life, and his family and friends want to provide college scholarship opportunities for high school seniors who share some of Alan’s passions. Alan was born in Cambridge in 1949, raised in Wellesley and graduated from Wellesley High School in 1967. He attended Harvard College (1971) and the University of Florida Law School (1975). Alan also received a degree from the Southern Methodist School of Law. Immediately after completing his law school education in 1975, Alan served as a law clerk for the Florida Supreme Court and then for the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida. Until his untimely death in February 2019, Alan lived happily in Orlando, Florida with his wife, Betsy, and had recently retired from his more than 40-year career practicing law in the private and corporate sectors. Over the decades, his returns to Massachusetts—Wellesley, Cambridge and the Cape—were frequent. Alan’s interests in making a positive difference in his communities began early in his life. As a high school student, he campaigned to save a branch library near his home. He held office on his high school student council and participated in Boys State. In college, he was a vice president of the Young Democrats. In his post-graduate life, he interviewed Florida high school candidates for Harvard College, served as a trustee of Webber International University and participated in numerous Florida bar association committees. To honor Alan’s history, the Alan M. Gerlach WHS Class of 1967 Scholarship will be awarded each year to a graduating senior who has been a leader in student government or who has been very active in community affairs. The first award is planned for a 2020 Wellesley High School graduate.

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MARIE IRENE GILLETTE AWARD
Marie Irene Gillette was a long time resident of Wellesley and was married to George Kelsey Gillette. On her death in 1989, Ms. Gillette left $10,000 to the Wellesley Scholarship Foundation. She asked that the scholarship given in her name be awarded to "graduates of Wellesley High School who evidence their desire to further their education in the field of Industrial Arts ... [or] to any qualified applicant whose academic performance, character, diligence and need deem that applicant a worthy recipient."

 

 

BROOKS AND JEANIE GODDARD AWARD
The board of the Wellesley Scholarship Foundation announced the creation of the Brooks and Jeanie Goddard Award in the spring of 2001. The award, the first that has ever been created by the Trustees, was conceived to honor educators as part of the Gala celebration of the 50th year of the Foundation. Together the Goddards served over 50 years as English department faculty at WHS. Their inspired teaching, tireless service and loving example have enriched the lives of thousands of Wellesley students over the years. The pair shared Brooks’ Peace Corps experience, their worldwide travel and life lessons with their students in addition to teaching literature and writing skills. Contributions to honor the teachers arrived from many Wellesley families, from fellow teachers and from former students from around the country. The first Brooks and Jeanie Goddard Award was presented in 2002.

 

 

MATTHEW HAMILTON GRAPE AWARD
Born on February 2, 1990, Matthew Hamilton Grape was the third of three children of Peter and Linda Grape. He lived his entire life in Wellesley attending the public school system through middle school. Matthew graduated from the Noble and Greenough School in Dedham. He was a passenger in a car that was involved in an automobile accident and was killed on September 15, 2011 at the beginning of his senior year at Duke University. He was 21 years old.

Matt had tremendous school spirit both at Nobles and at Duke. He loved sports and took the lead in organizing his classmates to support the schools’ teams. Matthew also had an encyclopedic knowledge of the Boston professional sports teams. He was tough, or, as he would say, “tough as nails.” When Matt asked you to do something, you did it because he asked so little of anyone. To be Matt’s friend, you had to first break down his guard, but, upon doing so, he was one of the most loyal friends a person could have. He was also funny, smart and highly independent. He could break the tension in any room with his one liners and huge dimpled smile. Matt was a true gentleman, with a hard exterior but the warmest of souls.

His family wishes to award the Matthew Hamilton Grape award to an individual who possesses the above characteristics. Matthew loved Duke University and his undergraduate years; his family feels it is important to give other young men and women a similar experience. The awardee should demonstrate similar independence as well as a love of school and all it represents.

 

 

J. MICHAEL HARDING AWARD
WSF lost longtime board member, supporter and beloved friend Mike Harding in August, 2000. Mike’s quiet but tenacious advocacy for WSF has lived on in continuing bequests, gifts and scholarship donations. Mike’s contributions to the education of Wellesley’s young people were the result of tireless service to WSF as President and investment counsellor, board member and champion of educational opportunity. The entire WSF family is indebted to Mike for his ongoing legacy. Memorial gifts were added to Mike’s bequest and a scholarship was presented for the first time in 2001.

 

 

RENA & HOWARD MIRKIN AWARD
When Wellesley High School Principal Rena Mirkin announced that she would retire in June 2007 after 11 years of dedicated leadership at WHS, members of the community decided to raise funds to endow a college scholarship in Rena’s name. As a scholarship recipient herself, Rena is well aware of the importance of the generosity of others in making it possible for young people to fulfill their potential and to achieve their dreams. The response of the Wellesley community, along with many others whose lives have been touched by Rena over the years, was extraordinary and the first Rena P. Mirkin Scholarship was awarded in 2007. In 2015, the award was renamed the Rena and Howard Mirkin Scholarship in recognition of the couple’s shared goals, values, and recognition that education is a “ticket for life.” The greatest gift imaginable to this couple is a scholarship in her/his honor. Contributions to the renamed scholarship are being made in celebration of Rena and Howard’s 80th birthdays.

 

 

WILLIAM AND NANCY MULLAHY FAMILY SCHOLARSHIP
In 1973 Bill and Nancy Mullahy left the island beauty of Hong Kong to reside in the lush greenery of Wellesley.  A key factor in their decision was the town’s excellent school system, as they had three young children.  More than four decades later, the Mullahy family, through the Wellesley Scholarship Foundation, decided to provide access to higher education for capable Wellesley students needing financial assistance. The family’s scholarship will be awarded for the first time in 2018 to a student interested in studying the sciences, which develops the critical thinking necessary to excel in many areas including health, engineering, education, or business.  If possible, the scholarship will benefit a student who is part of a first generation to attend college.
 

 

GERRY MURPHY SCHOLARSHIP
Gerry Murphy taught at Wellesley High School (WHS) from 1962 to 1998. As a teacher of political science, economics, US history, and humanities, Gerry electrified his students with his brilliant mind and his fearless approach to the status quo. He challenged his students to think and to question and to take risks, and he nurtured their spirits with his warmth and his generosity of spirit, earning their lifelong loyalty and friendship.  In many ways, Gerry’s entire life was dedicated to education; he inspired everyone he met to see and do things differently.  His career extended beyond WHS. It included work with an organization funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the position of headmaster of The American School in Switzerland’s (TASIS) school in Surrey, England, as well as editor and consulting positions for publishers including McDougal Littell.  His experiences fed his curiosity and provided new content for him to teach to family, students he mentored at Boston University’s School of Education, friends, former students, and neighbors in Wellesley.  This award will help fund the education of a courageous person who is committed to leaving a positive impact on the world by doing more for others than him or herself.

 

 

MARION NILES AWARD
Marion Niles lived in Wellesley for seventy years. She was President of the State Organization of Girls Clubs and Vice President of the National Organization of Girls Clubs. For decades, she was President of the Rockport Lodge, a vacation home for Massachusetts working women. She was instrumental in the establishment of the Wellesley Human Relations Service, recognized nationally as a pilot mental health agency. Through the Unitarian Service Committee, Ms. Niles helped bring European refugees to this country in 1939 and 1940. She was past President of the League of Women Voters and among the first elected members of the Wellesley Representative Town Meeting. At eighty-six, she wrote and published an account of her father's life. When she died, Ms. Niles left a bequest of $27,000 to the WSF. The first Marion Niles Scholarship was awarded in 1978.

 

 

CAROL AND STEPHEN PORTER AWARD
Carol and Steve Porter were longtime Wellesley residents who were both extremely active in town affairs. Carol Porter was very involved in the League of Women Voters, involved with the Human Relations Service and school councils. She was an integral part of the mental health community, described as an "extraordinary professional." Steve Porter served on several town committees, both appointed and elected, including the School Committee, Advisory Committee, Permanent School Accommodations Committee, Permanent Building Committee and the Zoning Board of Appeals. Mr. Porter encouraged intra-board communication. He always tried to see both sides of an issue and is remembered for his honesty, integrity and as a profound thinker. Stephen and Carol Porter died untimely deaths when the plane that he was piloting went down off Nantucket. The Porters are remembered as being energetic and adventuresome. Their family chose to have them honored at their deaths by asking that donations be made to WSF for scholarships for the youths of Wellesley. $15,500 was donated in their memory and the first Carol and Stephen Porter Scholarship was awarded in 1988.

 

 

LARRY RICE AWARD
Larry Rice was a world traveler, an amateur architect who designed and built ten houses in Wellesley, and an amateur tennis player who was good enough to have been unofficially ranked fourth in the country. He loomed large in the lives of Wellesley youth, coaching boys here in tennis and hockey for more than sixty years. Rice coached and trained Hank Bothfeld, a member of the 1955 U.S. National Hockey Team and former tennis professionals Marty Reissen and Ferdi Taygan.The hockey players usually trained with Larry on Rockridge Pond and the tennis players often used a tennis court built in back of his Cypress Street home. Larry Rice died in January, 1992, at the age of 95. After his death, Tom Warren, a native of Wellesley and the founder of Thomas Warren & Associates, Inc. in Sherborn, decided to establish a scholarship in honor of Larry Rice, to be funded by the large group of his former protégés who spent hours playing hockey and tennis under his tutelage. Funds were solicited from this group and the Larry Rice Scholarship has been awarded annually. The scholarship is an award targeted to scholar athletes, and if possible, those who play hockey or tennis.

 

 

DOUGLAS SANDS AWARD 
A beloved Wellesley Middle School Science teacher for over 30 years, Doug Sands was known to several generations of students for his love of the outdoors and emphasis on natural history. Named Conservation Teacher of the Year by the Massachusetts Audubon Society, Doug Sands’ students recall his many animals, especially a pet tortoise named "Alby," which roamed the classroom for 25 years. He was also famous for his annual “trips to the moon.” Students were required to obtain parental permission for this fanciful journey requiring them to problem solve to remain “alive.” Following Mr. Sands' death, his former student, Tom Warren, undertook an effort to establish a scholarship in Wellesley to honor a teacher who, by his own estimation, taught over 40,000 students during his career. The first Douglas Sands Memorial Award was presented in 2002.

 

 

MATTHEW TRUBIANI AWARD
Matt Trubiani, or Trubbs to his friends, lived most of his 22 years in Wellesley, attending Hardy and the Middle School before graduating from Wellesley High in 1996. He became interested in business, worked at the school store and was awarded the Wellesley Chamber of Commerce Award. Matt pursued business courses at UMass Amherst and Mass Bay while working. He enjoyed sports throughout his life, from playing Little League baseball to swimming for local, WHS and regional teams. He played golf for the High School team and carried a passion for the game into his young adult life. An active member of the Unitarian Church youth group, Matt participated on service projects and many youth activities. Remembering Matt for his direct honesty and his unique sense of humor, his family and friends have created a scholarship to help his memory live on.

 

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SCOTT WHEELOCK MEMORIAL AWARD
The Scott Wheelock Award was established in memory of the former Wellesley resident and 1978 Wellesley High School graduate. While at Wellesley High, Scott was a member of the varsity baseball and basketball teams and was awarded the Jack Sanford Award as the top pitcher on the WHS varsity baseball team. In addition to his participation in sports, Scott was a member of the Key Club and was active in many other social activities. It is intended that the award will be presented in Scott’s memory to “ a Wellesley High School senior continuing his or her education and who exhibits the values that Scott lived: a love of sports, a thirst for learning and travel, respect for nature, love of life and compassion for others.” It was presented for the first time in 2001.