Fund Purpose:
The purpose of this fund is to provide scholarships to one athlete who graduated from Marion High School AND one athlete who graduated from Mississinewa High School. Applicants must have a GPA of 2.5 or higher and demonstrate character and scholarship. Applicants must obtain and submit a letter of recommendation.
Fund Story:
Sixty years together. “But I count 63,” laughed Jack Colescott as he reflected on his marriage to his wife, Marge. Jack and Marge Colescott grew up in Gas City, went to high school together, and began dating in their sophomore year of high school after their mothers got them together. They dated for three years before getting married just a year out of high school. “Everyone liked her,” Jack Colescott said about his late wife. “She was not only pretty but a sweetheart.”
Jack finished college and became a government and history high school teacher as well as a basketball and baseball coach at Marion High School. Marge stayed home to raise their four children until their youngest reached junior high. She spent the next 19 years loving her job as an educational assistant in the special education classrooms of Marion schools.
Jack’s passion for sports and kids led him to a 50-year coaching career. He took his basketball team to the state finals twice in 1968 and 1969. In 1990, Indiana Wesleyan University named their golf tournament after Jack and 3 years ago it was renamed as the Jack and Marge Colescott Golf Tournament.
Marge was a people person and was known for her smile. She was always positive and made everyone feel better. “She was the perfect coach’s wife,” Jack said. “And I never think anybody is perfect. But she was.” She liked to stay in the background, and she never complained. She was nurturing, and the players on her husband’s teams loved her. She would make them their favorite food whether it was a special fruit salad or delicious peanut butter cookies.
Marge never wanted the glory for herself. She didn’t want to go to the floor of Market Square Arena in 1976, but when she realized it was because her son had won the Trester Award, “She had the biggest smile on her face,” Jack said. “She was so proud.”
After Marge’s death in 2010, Jack and his children wanted to come up with a special way to honor their beloved wife and mother. “She always had a soft spot in her heart for people who did not have very much,” Jack said. Since both Gas City and Marion were important to the Colescotts, Jack thought it would be fitting to set up a scholarship for both Marion and Mississinewa High school student-athletes who demonstrate character and leadership and are pursuing higher education.
Jack gives Marge the credit for allowing him to be generous now. “She was the one who saved the money,” he said. Jack believes that you inherit generosity from your parents. His father owned a restaurant and could never turn down a meal to people who were down and out.
One thing that was extremely important to Marge was keeping her family together. Her love and support for her family were instrumental in accomplishing that. Each year since her death, her family gathers together towards the end of October to celebrate her birthday. The Colescott legacy is one of love and commitment to family. This legacy will continue to live through the Jack and Marge Colescott Scholarship Fund.
Fund Impact:
Levi G.R Stark
Beck Vermilion
Broderick Crosby
Nathaniel Aguila
Anika Williams
Johnny Davis III
Lillian Ludlow
Taylor Kitts
Heidi Rowley
Vikram Oddiraju
Sammie Miles III
Kathryn Erickson
Leilanu Jackson
Hannah Rowley
Devon Dill
Mae McCarthy
Abigail Eltzroth
Rebecca Medel
Andrew Spitzer
Brandon McKee
Caleb Bragg
Alexander Winter
Click here to apply for Community Foundation scholarships.
