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Youth at
Federated Church have a distinct privilege of being
recipients of scholarships after graduating from high
school because of the generosity of former Federated
Church member, Arthur Philip “Phil” Wilson, Jr. Upon his
death in 1998 Phil donated $844,594.86 to the Federated
Church Foundation to be used specifically for post-high
school undergraduate scholarships on a perpetual basis.
The monies
donated by Mr. Wilson are available to Federated Church
youth graduating from a Columbus area high school and can
be applied to their studies at a college or trade school
of their choice. Graduating seniors apply for scholarships
in the spring. Students who are currently pursuing
undergraduate studies may apply to continue their
scholarships at the conclusion of their year of study.
Deadlines for application submittals may be obtained by
calling the church office.
Since its
inception, seventy individual students have been awarded
scholarships (many of them multiple times). The
scholarship amounts can vary each year; thus far, they
have ranged from $900 and $1,050.
Mr. Wilson’s
generous bequest truly has been a blessing to Federated
Church and enriched the lives of its youth. Because of
the legacy that he provided, future generations of youth
will reap those rewards that he set in place for them.
The Arthur Philip “Phil” Wilson, Jr.,
Story
Arthur Philip
Wilson, Jr., was born on July 19th, 1922, in
Elmhurst, Illinois. Mr. Wilson’s father, Arthur Philip
Wilson, Sr., was an insurance agent with the Midwest Life
Insurance Company of Lincoln, Nebraska, and was in charge
of the company’s agency in Columbus, Nebraska.
Phil grew up in
Columbus, Nebraska, and was a member of the Federated
Church along with his parents. He graduated from Kramer
High School (now Columbus High School) in 1940 after which
he attended and graduated from Salinas Junior College in
Salinas, California. While there, he was the student body
president.
In 1942, Phil
entered the U. S. Army as a private in the infantry. He
was discharged in 1946 after serving in New Guinea and the
Philippine Islands. He left active duty in the service as
a captain.
Phil moved to
Dallas, Texas, after his release from the service where he
enrolled at Southern Methodist University, graduating from
that institution in 1949 with a law degree. Phil
continued his connection to the armed services by
utilizing his law degree in serving with the Judge
Advocate Generals’ Corps of the Army Reserve until 1973.
He retired as a colonel.
Phil Wilson had
a distinguished legal career in Dallas practicing with his
own firm and participating in the Dallas Bar Association
where he served as president in 1968. He demonstrated
continued support for the Dallas Bar Association by
organizing and serving as co-chairman of the Bar
Foundation. Through Phil’s efforts on the Bar Foundation,
the A. H. Belo mansion was acquired as the Bar
Headquarters and ultimately was listed on the National
Register of Historic Places. Phil also served on the
Southern Methodist University Board of Trustees.
Phil Wilson
never forgot his childhood church and school in Nebraska.
In his later life, he came back to Columbus on a regular
basis during the summer months to renew old memories and
to savor those cherished fixtures that formed the
foundation of this later life.
Arthur Philip
Wilson, Jr., will be remembered not only for his legal
expertise in Texas, but for his generosity in funding
youth scholarships in his childhood church. Phil died on
April 1, 1998, at the age of 75. He is buried in
Columbus.
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