June Snyder Lindsay Endowed Scholarship

How do you celebrate the 90th birthday of a woman who has been blessed with a loving family and friends that have made her life comfortable and relatively carefree? Add to that the fact that the woman is still actively involved in her church and spends considerable time sharing her resources with causes dear to her heart.

June Snyder Lindsay was the widow of the Rev. H.C. Lindsay, longtime pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Paradise Valley, Arizona. She was a graduate of Wittenberg University and the mother of four children—a son and three daughters—who respected her independence while also tracking her health and well-being. On the occasion of her 90th birthday, however, they wanted to do something different. It was daughter Carol who devised a celebration that honored her mother in a way that would have put the fanciest Hollywood gala to shame.

June’s special day was June 18, 1999, but the plan was launched in March when Carol decided to establish an endowed scholarship in her mother’s name at CLU. The scholarship was a surprise that would be announced at the birthday event in the middle of a whirlwind four-day weekend in New York City. Every detail of the weekend was planned to the nth degree and, amazingly, everything went like clockwork.

June’s fabulous weekend included a first-class flight to New York City, a stay at the Marriott Marquis looking down on Times Square, tickets to a Broadway show (“Annie, Get Your Gun”), dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria with family, and tea at Gracie Mansion. One of the weekend’s highlights was the presentation of a beautifully prepared certificate announcing the creation of the June Snyder Lindsay Endowed Scholarship signed by CLU president Luther Luedtke.

When daughter Carol presented the scholarship certificate to her mother, she explained that it was “In honor and appreciation of my mother, who places utmost importance on family and education and believes that we must do everything possible to provide positive growth opportunities for children. Elementary education holds the promise.”

The June Snyder Lindsay Endowed Scholarship was first awarded on Honors Day 2000, with both June and Carol present. Recipients must be upper-division or fifth-year students preparing for careers in teaching and must have demonstrated a profound belief and dedication to the education and emotional well-being of children.