Vernon, Priscilla, and Ellen Wenrich Endowed Scholarship

In 2006, Marjorie D. Wenrich and her husband, Eric E. Ramhorst, created this scholarship to honor the memories of Ms. Wenrich’s father, mother and sister.

Ms. Wenrich’s father, Vernon, died in August 2006 on his 85th birthday. He spent his entire career — more than 40 years — at Berkeley High School in California, first as one of 13 counselors and then as head counselor. He routinely turned down promotions to higher-level administrative positions because he loved working directly with students. At his memorial picnic, an entire table of retired teachers and counselors spoke of the influence he had on thousands of students’ and teachers’ lives. He was a quiet, thoughtful man; education was at the core of his being.

Ms. Wenrich’s mother, Priscilla, died of Alzheimer’s disease in 2001. Like her husband, she believed strongly in education. She worked for the Down Syndrome League for a number of years, primarily in grant-writing and development. A lovely, gracious, humorous woman, she felt strongly the importance of contributing to the world and did so through her work, her many hospital-league volunteer activities, and through raising her children.

Ms. Wenrich’s only sister, Ellen, died in 1989 at the age of 37 from a rare complication of hepatitis A, while awaiting a liver transplant. She left behind two small children and many people who cared deeply for her. An accomplished graphic artist and photographer, she was a luminous, unique, brave person. Ms. Wenrich writes, “This scholarship honors three people who were (and still are) very special to me. Each contributed to the good of the world. I hope that the small memorial scholarship I have created in their memory will help others find their niche in contributing something of value to the world, whatever and wherever that niche may be.”

 http://depts.washington.edu/givemed/scholarships/vernon-priscilla-ellen-wenrich/

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Keith Conning:  Vern Wenrich was very supportive of my teaching in the Business and History Departments at Berkeley High School.  He recommended my classes to the students he counseled.  I taught there from 1973 to 1998.  I started a new class in Consumer Economics.  Vern came into my class one day and said that he started teaching in the Business Department.

I would run into him regularly before school as I was running with the cross country and track  team.  He would walk from his home high in the Berkeley hills to Berkeley High every morning.