Estate Gift of $1,043,311 Endows Scholarship for Woodbury Central High School

The Siouxland Community Foundation announces today that they have received a $1,043,311 estate gift to establish the Ruth and Tom Schuldt Scholarship. Multiple graduating high school seniors from Woodbury Central High School in Moville, Iowa will benefit from this gift left by siblings, Ruth and Tom Schuldt.

Ruth Mae Schuldt and Thomas Frederick Schuldt were raised in the Moville, IA, area by their parents Henry and Laura (Mae) Schuldt. Both Ruth and Tom attended (then) Moville Independent School. Ruth was a valedictorian graduate in 1943; Tom left school in the fall of 1961, his senior year, to enlist in the U.S. Navy and also served in the Coast Guard. Ruth eventually worked in the life insurance industry, specializing in administration and life insurance investments. After years of military service, Tom returned to the Moville area where he and Ruth ultimately owned and managed their parents’ farmland. In their later years, both Ruth and Tom resided together in a modest house in the Morningside area of Sioux City. 

Both exemplified the ideals of being forthright, humble, hardworking, frugal and caring people. It was their wish to donate their life savings and proceeds from the sale of their property to Woodbury Central High School in Moville, and to area “cancer, heart, Alzheimer’s and blind children charities.” Modest to the end, neither Ruth nor Tom wanted any acclaim for their generous donations, which will have a remarkable impact the lives of Siouxlanders from all walks of life for decades to come.

The Ruth and Tom Schuldt Scholarship will be administered by the Siouxland Community Foundation located in Sioux City, IA. Multiple scholarships, ranging from $10,000 to $20,000 will be awarded annually from the earnings of the fund while never touching the principal gift. Woodbury Central High School’s graduating class of 2021 will be the first eligible for the scholarship. They will find the scholarship’s full criteria and application on the Foundation’s website, www.siouxlandcommunityfoundation.org. 

“We are grateful for Ruth and Tom Schuldt’s forethought and generosity to make such a tremendous and secure gift for Woodbury Central students,” says Katie Roberts, Executive Director of the Siouxland Community Foundation. “The legacy created by an endowed fund, such as the Ruth and Tom Schuldt Scholarship, will live on for generations as it is awarded every year, forever.”

Established in 1988, the Siouxland Community Foundation is a trusted organization that connects people who care, with causes that matter by providing a means to receive gifts and distribute scholarships and grants in response to community needs.