The Margaret Chatellier Scholarship, a Ministry of KCPC Presbyterian Woman
A History of the Scholarship by Polly Wright
From time to time I am asked to talk
about Peg, as we lovingly knew her. So those of you who have heard me
before, bear with me because we have many people in our congregation who
don't know about her. You have all seen our beautiful cross that hangs
in the front of our church. She had it made as a memorial to her young
son, Marshall Ramsey, who died in a fire in her home in Ohio. Beyond
being a mother, a wife and the owner of a real estate agency she was a
friend to all who knew her. She was my friend from the day that I met
her when she showed Don and me the town of New London and all that made
it what it is. She took us every place, schools, the hospital, the only
bank in town thirty-eight years ago, Cricenti's Market, several houses
for sale and at the end of the day she showed us the property on Maple
Lane that we bought. It belonged to her. She became our neighbor and
our friend. She worked at being a friend. Many a time she would put
together impromptu dinners with a diverse group of people and it was
always entertaining because Peg made it work. Sometimes it would be
just the two of us for lunch to talk about the church.
Peg was a central figure in New London
and worked for years at the Barn Players wearing many hats. She had a
love for young people and a great respect for them and so her role at
the Barn included being a friend to whomever needed a friend.
She was sensitive to others feelings to
the point of discomfort to herself. For example: she let me feed her
food with onions in it for eighteen years and never told me that she
couldn't eat onions. I found out one day when were discussing a menu
for a church supper and she said: "Do you think we could have a main
dish without onions. There are some of us who can't tolerate them"
Peg loved her church and her community
and she enthusiastically involved herself in ways which were an
inspiration. She didn't judge people and she was an advocate for the
young as a member of the school board for several years. Peg was the
first youth group leader in our church. She had a wondeful imagination
and creativity and the youth had great respect for her.
And so at a Presbyterian Women's meeting
one morning in Nancy Nilson's living room, Peg asked if we could put in
our budget an amount of money to establish a scholarship fund for our
youth to promote, support and encourage scholarship and participation of
our young in the life of the church.
Upon learning of her illness,
Presbyterian Women decided to name this fund in her honor. Peggy was
deeply moved by this decision and each year we honor her memory and her
ideals by this fund raiser.
Scholarship Recepients:
Laurie Amweg-1994 Marianne Wall-1995 Alex McDonald-1996 Matthew Young-2000 Jessica Gutgsell-2001 Rebecca Bride-2003 Stephanie Young-2003 James Rhodes-2004 Emily Rhodes-2006 Kristine Jarvis-2007 Danielle Smerald - 2010 Elise Hollinger-2010 Anysia Howell-2010 Jesse Smerald - 2010 Elizabeth Merrill-2011 Dan Stevens - 2011