Menu
Log in

William And Adeline Hendess Scholarship

The William and Adeline Hendess Scholar­ship was estab­lished by a grant from board member Ray Hendess, PBK Bates, 1960, to honor his parents for their never failing encourage­ment. He has this to say about his parents:

"My parents felt that a college education was very important. They encouraged and supported me through college and graduate school, and thanks to their support I became the first person in the family to receive a doctorate."

Adeline (March 10, 1907 – September 1977) was born in New Jersey. She graduated from high school and became a comptometer operator (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comptometer) until she and “Bill” were married on May 30, 1934, she then helped Bill in his heating business by doing office work at home; she also volunteered for the Red Cross. She took an interest in my education, rewarding me for every “A” on my report cards, and allowing me to do chemistry experiments on the kitchen table (I later got a degree in Chemistry).

William (April 13, 1908 – January 1981) was also born in New Jersey. He quit high school after an argument with a history teacher and in 1924 (at age 16) went to Cooper Union (a tuition-free college in New York City) to study architecture, graduating in 1928. The depression struck, so he followed the path of his father in the trades as a brick-layer and plasterer. In the 30’s he established his own heating service company, originally in the form of a toolbox in the back of his car. Bill was a good mechanic and trouble-shooter and eventually was sought after by many customers. The company grew; he took in a partner and had several employees. He survived embezzlement by the partner in the late 40’s because he was well respected by his creditors who gave him time to get financially re-established. I worked with him during several summer and other school breaks, and still look back on those times with fond memories – we worked well together and I learned a lot. The business went on to provide his income until forced retirement in 1970 due to a back injury; at which time my parents moved from New Jersey to Florida.

Recipients

Year Awardee School Field
 2023Remy NguyenUC Santa CruzBiomoleculer Engineering & Bioinformatics
2022Alan KongUC San FranciscoMedicine M.D., Glaucoma
2021Claire MagnaniUC BerkeleyChemistry
2020Nathan Gamarra UC San Francisco Biochemistry and Biophysics
2019 Adrienne Epstein UC San Francisco Epidemiology & Translational Sciences
2018 Jeremy Nowak UC Berkeley Chemistry
2017 Laura Bogar Stanford Biology [Ecology and Evolution]
2016 Bronwen Stanford UC Santa Cruz Environmental Studies
2015 Marius Cătălin Iordan Stanford Computer Science
2014 Melissa Eitzel UC Berkeley Statistical Ecology

Quick links

Follow our activities

© Phi Beta Kappa Northern California Association

Powered by Wild Apricot Membership Software