Michael Shahan Scholarship

The Michael Shahan Scholarship Fund supports students from St. George, Clover, or Licking districts in Tucker County, honoring the life and service of Lt. Col. Michael Ellsworth Shahan, a decorated U.S. Air Force veteran and educator.

TYPE OF FUND: Scholarship

DATE ESTABLISHED: May 1996

PURPOSE: To provide scholarships for students from St. George, Clover, or Licking districts, to be given in the name of a San Antonio, Texas resident who was a native of St. George.

DISTRIBUTION: To be determined by the Scholarship Committee of TCF with approval of the Board of Directors.

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. TCF has exclusive legal control over any contributed assets.

FUNDING: Initial funding in his memory and honor by his family.

BACKGROUND: Michael Ellsworth Shahan was born in St. George on August 26, 1917. He attended St. George Grade School and graduated from Parsons High School in 1934. After earning a Standard Normal Teacher’s Diploma from Davis and Elkins College, he taught in Tucker County before completing an AB from George Washington University, an MS from Plattsburgh State University in New York, and further postgraduate coursework. He joined the U.S. Air Force in 1940 and earned his pilot’s wings in 1941. During WWII, he shot down the first German aircraft by the U.S. Air Force in the European Theater and was awarded the Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross, and Air Medal with six Oak Leaf Clusters, among other decorations. He retired from the military in 1964 as a Lieutenant Colonel, then returned to education, teaching at Northern Virginia Community College until retiring again in 1981 as Professor Emeritus. Deeply connected to Tucker County, he was inducted into the Parsons High School Hall of Fame in 1994. His sons established this scholarship to honor their father’s legacy and the family’s enduring ties to the Cheat River Valley. Michael Shahan passed away on May 6, 2006.