A new scholarship fund to reward students with farm backgrounds has been established in memory of Frank Davis Jr., who died April 3.
The Frank Davis Jr. Scholarship Fund is for outstanding Emporia High School graduates who live on a farm and “have excelled in citizenship traits such as honesty, integrity and dependability,” according to an announcement from the Emporia Community Foundation, which will administer the scholarship fund.
Davis, the son of Frank A. and Elsie Dunn Davis, was born on his family’s farm west of Olpe on May 22, 1931.
He was a farmer and rancher and had been a welder for Sauder Custom Fabrication and IBP Special Projects. He had taught welding at Flint Hills Area Technical School.
Davis had been the first president of the Kansas Young Farmers Association and a past Kansas Young Farmer of the Year, as well as a member of the Kansas Farm Bureau. He was a 4-H leader and served on the board of directors of the Production Credit Association.
His wife, Barbara Jean Holzapfel Davis, established the fund as a memorial to her husband.
“Frank always wanted to help farm kids improve their education and our family thought that this would be an ideal way to honor his memory,” Davis was quoted as saying.
The community foundation anticipates that other high schools will be added to the eligibility list as the fund grows.
Contributions may be sent to Frank Davis Jr. Scholarship Fund, in care of Emporia Community Foundation, P.O. Box 1337, Emporia KS 66801.