Roberta and Robert Hurd.jpg
Roberta and Robert Hurd bequest $1 million scholarship fund to Phoenix schools where they met.
(Provided photo)
Phoenix High School yearbook photos for Robert and Roberta Hurd.
Phoenix, NY -- Robert and Roberta Hurd met as students in the 1930s at Phoenix Central School District.
The high school sweethearts fell in love and were married a few years after graduation. He worked as a tool and die worker and she was an accountant. The couple, who never had children, lived a modest, quiet life in Baldwinsville.
The couple retired and moved to Florida in 1987. Robert Hurd died from cancer in 1992, three months shy of the couple's 50th wedding anniversary. Roberta Hurd lived 20 years without her best friend and died in March at the age of 91.
"You could tell when you talked to her that she deeply missed her best friend," said Jennifer Owens, of the Central New York Community Foundation. "During one of our last conversations she said she was ready to be with her husband."
The couple's love for each other was apparent, but what few people knew was that the couple had saved and invested their money wisely and wanted to leave their legacy at the place where their love story began at Phoenix High School, which is now J.C. Birdlebough High School.
Roberta Hurd met with the Central New York Community Foundation after her husband died to establish a gift of a scholarship fund worth upwards of $1 million. She requested that the bequest not be made public until after her death; the Community Foundation recently announced the details.
The Robert & Roberta Hurd Scholarship Fund will award a $40,000 scholarship to a graduating senior. The award will be paid at $10,000 per year over four years if the student remains enrolled in college and in good standing. The first scholarship will be given out to a graduating member of the class of 2015.
It may very well be one of the largest scholarship funds ever given to a public school district in New York state. Jay Worona, deputy executive director and general counsel of the New York State School Boards Association, said he has never heard of one that large in his 30 years in education.
It certainly means a lot to the Phoenix Central School District, a primarily rural Oswego County community 15 miles northwest of Syracuse.The district is not a wealthy one, ranking as the 273rd poorest district out of 683 districts, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. About 16 percent of the school-age children are from families living below the poverty line.
Robert and Roberta Hurd graduated more than 70 years ago, but their time spent together at the school was memorable, Roberta told Community Foundation officials before her death.
Roberta was an excellent student and involved in many extra-curricular activities, including archery. Robert, one class year ahead of her, played many sports and was also a good student. They were always together, enjoying life's adventures on camping and ski trips, according to the foundation.
Community Foundation officials said the couple was devoted and rich in love for one another, and they both believed strongly in the importance of a good education. They were thankful for how well their Phoenix school experience set them up to succeed, officials said.
Roberta and Robert Hurd bequest $1 million scholarship fund to Phoenix schools where they met.
"In my last correspondence with Roberta shortly before her death, I made sure to emphasize the transformative nature of her gift for the students in Phoenix," Owens, a vice president at the Community Foundation, said in news release. "She was a remarkable woman who never got over the loss of her best friend, Robert."
The Community Foundation will handle the investment fund and the school's administration will select the scholarship recipients.
The Community Foundation recently informed district officials of the gift, who were surprised and thrilled.
"This generous gift is incredibly meaningful for our students who face financial barriers to college, and validating to us as a community because it came from former students," Superintendent Judy Belfield said in a news release. "Though Robert and Roberta graduated more than 70 years ago, their love of Phoenix and appreciation of their education journey left an impression that motivated them to give back in a big way."
Roberta Hurd requested that the scholarship be awarded to a student who falls within the top 15 percent scholastic rating of his or her class. On average Phoenix graduates 150 seniors a year, so about 22 students will be eligible each year.
Roberta Hurd also said the student should demonstrate financial need and exemplify moral values reflected by personal action and respect for family members, fellow students, teachers and the community.
Community volunteerism is a priority in the Phoenix Central School District, Belfield said
"We have students who log more than 500 donated hours during their high school careers," she said. "This award will allow us to honor some of those selfless students."
Community Foundation officials say Roberta Hurd's love for her husband, who she referred to as her true soul mate, and their alma mater motivated the gift to the school.
"While the student beneficiaries of their thoughtfulness will not know them, they will surely appreciate their generosity and unselfish desire to invest in their futures," Owens said.
Sarah Moses covers the northern suburbs of Onondaga County and Oswego
County. Contact Sarah at smoses@syracuse.com or 470-2298. Follow @SarahMoses315