SIMI VALLEY : 2 Students Awarded $1,000 Scholarships
Two Ventura County students each received $1,000 scholarships Thursday from a foundation set up by the Simi Valley family of a Navy firefighter killed in an explosion aboard the aircraft carrier Midway.
Jeff Baugher of Simi Valley and Melinda Marsh of Ventura were awarded the college scholarships at a ceremony at Simi Valley City Hall.
The memorial scholarship fund was established by the Ventura County Firefighters’ Assn. and the family of Shane Kilgore, a 22-year-old Simi Valley sailor who was killed in June, 1990, in an explosion on the Midway. The ship had been on maneuvers off the coast of Japan at the time of the accident, in which two others were also killed.
The scholarship fund was set up to benefit aspiring firefighters and the children of firefighters, said association spokeswoman Jill Herson-Martinez.
Baugher, a Simi Valley High School student, was chosen for academic excellence. Baugher’s father is Ventura County Fire Battalion Chief Fred Baugher.
Marsh was chosen for her dedication to helping others. A medical student at Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles/Chapman University, Marsh is the daughter of a firefighter who died last month of cancer.
Jackie Marzola, Kilgore’s mother, described her son as selfless and giving and said the scholarship fund was a way to ensure that he will be remembered for those qualities.
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