THE HUGH & NINA COMSTOCK
FAMILY SCHOLARSHIP
Each year for the past eighteen (18) years, five (5) $1,000
scholarships have been awarded to five well-deserving seniors at
Richwood High School. The scholarships are given in Honor and Memory of
Hugh and Nina Comstock of Richwood. Prior to WWII four boys and one girl
were born to Hugh and Nina and each child graduated from Richwood High
School. Hugh worked at the Cherry River Boom and Lumber Company as a
carpenter and Nina (with the exception of working at G.C. Murphy’s
during Christmas time) was a stay-at-home Mom. As each child graduated
from high school they were highly encouraged by their Mother to continue
their education by attending college. College tuition was relatively
inexpensive in the 1950’s, but family funds were almost non-existent.
For several years Hugh would go to the Cherry River National Bank to
mortgage their home so that one or more of the kids could attend
college. All five not only attended college, but each one graduated and
went on to attain a degree of accomplishment in their lives that made
their parents extremely proud.
Hugh Junior was the first child born.
Junior contracted polio at the age of ten and attended Pittsburg
University where he graduated with a degree in watch making. He went on
to have a thriving jewelry and watchmaking store in Baltimore, MD and in
Columbus, OH.
The next child was Lowell Comstock.
After spending four years in the US Air Force, Lowell returned to his
hometown and enrolled at Concord College pursuing a degree in Chemistry.
After receiving his Bachelor’s Degree at Concord, Lowell continued his
education and received a Masters’ Degree in Chemistry at the University
of Maryland.
Dr. Gene Comstock was the third son to
be born. Upon graduating from high school, Gene enrolled at Concord
College majoring in pre-medicine. After graduation from Concord, Gene
enrolled in the Dentistry Program at WVU. Dr. Gene received his degree
in Dentistry (the very first graduating class in Dentistry at WVU) and
soon thereafter opened his Dental Practice in Winchester, VA.
Finally a girl. Joan Ellen arrives in
the Comstock Family. Immediately after graduation from Richwood High
School, Joan enrolled at Glenville College in pursuit of a degree in
Secondary Education. After graduation from Glenville, Joan enrolled at
WVU and received a Master of Education degree. Joan moved to Columbus,
OH and gave over thirty years teaching mainly in Columbus intercity
schools.
The final child born into the Comstock Family is
Doug Comstock. Doug worked after school
and on Saturday at the News Leader and the WV Hillbilly where he learned
many skills from his Uncle Jim Comstock and Bronson McClung. Immediately
after graduating from High School, he worked a year at the Gazette in
Charleston. It was during this time he married his High School
Sweetheart, Susan Haga of Fenwick. After that, Doug enlisted in the US
Air Force where he was able to obtain a Bachelor’s Degree in Business at
the University of Nebraska. In 1968, Doug was assigned to the Strategic
Air Command where he began a career in a new field called “Computers” or
what became known as Information Technology (IT). Soon after retiring
from the Air Force, Doug received his Master of Computer Science degree
and in 1983, formed Micah Systems, Inc., an IT company that became a
multi-million-dollar corporation with over 300 employees providing
Information Engineering services to both the Department of Defense and
to commercial companies throughout the country. In the year 2000, Doug
sold Micah Systems and he and his wife Susan retired to Florida. Doug
and Susan are Snowbirds returning to Fenwick in the summertime.
Doug & Susan Comstock have chosen The
Family Center in Richwood to administer the scholarships; however, Mr.
Comstock personally selects all of the recipients. Interested Richwood
High School seniors should go online to download the 2017 Hugh and Nina
Comstock Family Scholarship Application at
Microsoft Word
Document or PDF.
When the application is completed, students may mail it in a large
envelope that will accommodate 8 ½ X 11-inch paper without folding to:
Mr. Wally Howerton
P. O. Box 85
Richwood, WV 26261
Students may also
scan and email their paperwork to
walter.howerton@frontier.com. Each applicant will be notified to meet
for an interview with Wally. The deadline for postal and email
submissions is Friday, March 31, 2017.