Elliott Kepler and Alice Mae Degler Smith Fund
The Elliott Kepler and Alice Mae Degler Smith Fund supports a wide range of charitable initiatives benefiting Tucker County, WV, including youth camps, scholarships, local emergency services, libraries, public broadcasting, and other community-serving programs.
TYPE OF FUND: Field of Interest
DATE ESTABLISHED: Dec. 7, 1991
PURPOSE: General charitable purposes. As requested by Mr. and Mrs. Smith, organizations favored to receive funding from this endowment include:
Salvation Army: Easter Fund, Summer Camp for children, school contributions in the fall, and/or Annual Christmas Fund
4-H Camp: One boy and one girl to summer camp
YMCA Camp Horseshoe: One boy and one girl to summer Leadership Camp
YMCA Camp Horseshoe Annual Fund Drive and/or Building Fund
Scholarships for Tucker County High School graduating seniors to attend a trade school or to major in electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, medical fields, or primary/secondary education
Tucker County Emergency Squads
Parsons Library Fund
West Virginia Public Radio
West Virginia Public TV
Any general charitable contributions recommended by the board of directors and approved by the board, for the benefit of Tucker County
DISTRIBUTION: Upon the recommendation by the Grants or Scholarship Committee and approval by the full Board of Directors of TCF.
VARIANCE POWER: If, in the judgment of the TCF Board of Directors, the restrictions and conditions of the fund become unnecessary, incapable of fulfillment or inconsistent with the charitable needs of the community, the TCF Board of Directors maintains the right to modify the terms of this fund.
FUNDING: $5,000 from Mr. and Mrs. E. K. Smith
BACKGROUND: Elliott Kepler Smith and Alice Mae Degler Smith were active in the Tucker Community Endowment Foundation from the start. Mr. Smith was a charter member of the TCF Board of Directors, and this was one of the first funds established at the Foundation.
Elliott Kepler “Kep” Smith was a retired Navy Captain, born July 28, 1914 in Red Creek, WV. He attended Saplin Ridge – Mt. View School, graduated from Parsons Graded and High Schools (Class of 1933), and earned a mechanical engineering degree from Kent State University. He served in the U.S. Navy for 30 years, participating in Operation Deep Freeze and expeditions in both the Arctic and Antarctic under Adm. Richard E. Byrd. He captained the USS Point Barrow during atomic testing in the Pacific and retired to Parsons after his military service. He passed away on July 29, 1998.
Alice Mae Degler Smith was raised by her grandparents in Hambleton, WV. A 1936 graduate of Parsons High School, she earned her BS from Davis & Elkins College and an MBA from Kent State University. She was the first clerk for Monongahela Power Company in Parsons, taught in Mahoning County, OH, and part-time at Mount Union College. She served 38 months on active duty with the U.S. Women Marines during WWII, earning the rank of Technical Sergeant. She passed away on July 23, 2006.
