Scholarship benefits fire company families
A year after her husband died, Joanne Williams is determined to continue his philosophy of emphasizing the importance of higher education.
John W. Williams Jr. was 71 when he passed away from complications after a triple bypass procedure May 14, 2007. He had been an electrician for the Old Bridge Board of Education for 27 years and, according to his widow, he had been an influential presence in the community.
“If you ever met John, you would never forget him,” Williams said of her late husband. “Everyone he met, he would ask them if they had gone on to higher education, and if they hadn’t finished, he would encourage them to.”
In memory of her late firefighter husband, who volunteered with the Hook and Ladder Company and the fire police, Williams set up the John W. Williams Jr. Memorial Scholarship fund for fire department members and their children to continue their education.
“I set it up because since the day I met him, he always encouraged everyone to get an education,” she said. “Whether it was college or technical school, John always said that an education is something no one can take away from you.”
This was the first year for the scholarship, and as Williams explained, it was all very new to her.
“This was our first year, and we will continue it with the fire department,” she explained. “This year, we gave the applicants the name of a book and they had to write a response.”
Applicants were charged with reading “The Measure of Our Success: A Letter to My Children and Yours” by Marian Wright Edelman.
“The applicants were required to read the book and were asked to write a letter to their children or future children,” Williams said. “They were to concentrate on character development and advice on how to teach their children about being a good person and leading a good life.”
When asked why she chose that particular challenge, Williams answered, “This book teaches great lessons. I see my generation changing, and people don’t always take the time to teach children the basic good things in life.”
Williams was the judge of the entries, and said that the small turnout was fine for the first year.
“There were a handful of applicants, but I think if there were more, it might have been a little overwhelming,” she said.
Williams and members of the Matawan Borough Fire Department recently presented a borough youngster with a check for her winning letter.
Kailee Anne Richards, who will attend Mater Dei High School in the fall, was the recipient of $1,000 from the John W. Williams Jr. Memorial Scholarship fund on June 4.
“Kailee’s letter was great,” Williams said. “She had touched the heart of the contest.”
Williams said that the letter Kailee wrote included things that her parents had taught her and what she would pass on to her own children.
“She really wrote it to not just her own children, but to children in the community,” Williams said. “My husband was such a large part of the community that I felt this was something he would have agreed with. Kailee’s letter was very broad in the sense that she included everyone.”
Kailee’s letter speaks about the virtues of hard work and being wary of a false sense of entitlement.
“[The book] taught me some very important things about life, like what to expect when I have children of my own and some important life lessons I can especially relate to,” Kailee’s letter reads. “Lesson One: there is no free lunch and don’t feel entitled to anything you don’t sweat and struggle for. I thought that was a great choice for the first lesson growing up because my parents always taught me that if I really wanted something, I had to work for it.”
Williams appreciated that Kailee related the book to her own life, she said.
“I felt she was touching the book and her own experiences,” Williams said. “That is important for a young person after they read such a book.”
According to Williams, she was the sole sponsor of the fund this year, donating the $1,000 for the winning spot.
“We didn’t do any fundraising, but we do have a tax ID number and will accept donations,” she said.
According to Kailee’s father, Capt. Paul Richards of the Matawan Borough Fire Department, the soon-to-be high school freshman plans on becoming a junior firefighter when she turns 16 and enjoys playing basketball and baseball.
Donations to the John W. Williams Jr. Memorial Scholarship fund can be sent to P.O. Box 294, Matawan, NJ 07747.
