Rochester, N.Y.- A former vice principal of Jefferson High School who died two years ago, left more than a million dollars to help college students in disciplines that were important to him.
When Roy VanDelinder, Jr. died in August of 2010 at the age of 75, he left a bequest of $1.9 million to the Rochester Area Community Foundation.
The Foundation will distribute the money in the form of student fellowships to students at the University of Rochester, VanDelinder’s alma mater, the Eastman School of Music, and the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Each year, a college fellowship, worth as much as $80,000 will go to a deserving upperclassman or graduate student.
The fellowships will be awarded on a rotating and ongoing basis, starting with one in European history in 2013, followed by organ studies in 2014 and ecumenics in 2015.
VanDelinder retired from the Rochester School District in 1991 after serving for 35 years as a history teacher and as an administrator.
