Gilbert said he could think of no better way to honor their memory than by providing opportunities for students living in the states his parents loved most.
“My parents were natives of Helena, Arkansas. After leaving Helena, they lived briefly in Louisville, Kentucky, but spent most of their adult lives in Jackson, Mississippi. Both of my parents were lifelong Methodists and were known for their warmth and generosity,” Gilbert said. “As a way to celebrate their lives and the positive impact they had on me, we established this scholarship to give tomorrow’s leaders the opportunity to find happiness and success just like my parents did.”
Thomas J. “Tommy” Gilbert Sr. and Elizabeth A. Gilbert were married in 1945 in Detroit, Michigan, and had three children of whom they were extremely proud: Thomas J. “Jeff” Gilbert Jr., Jerome A. “Jerry” Gilbert and Jill Gilbert Massey. Tommy Gilbert was a self-made businessman who owned two sequential furniture businesses in Canton, Mississippi: Gilbert Wood Products Inc. and Gilbert and Ryan Inc. Elizabeth Gilbert was a secretary in her younger years and was a lifelong volunteer and church member.
“I am confident my parents would be proud to assist in supporting a student in need and this scholarship in their memory will be a way for that to happen,” Gilbert said. “My parents were incredibly supportive of me and my siblings, and I hope that this scholarship will provide a similar level of encouragement to students at Marshall.”
The recipient of the one-time award shall be a full-time undergraduate student who has financial need per standards of the Office of Student Financial Assistance. First preference will be to a student from West Virginia. Second preference goes to a student from Mississippi, Arkansas, Kentucky or Ohio.
For questions about a student’s eligibility for the Tommy and Elizabeth Gilbert Scholarship, please contact the Office of Student Financial Assistance.
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Photo: (Left to right): Ron Area, CEO of the Marshall University Foundation; Ellen Castro, director of philanthropy at the Marshall University Foundation; and Dr. Jerry Gilbert, president of Marshall University.