Loren and Bonnie Clary Scholarship honors couple’s 60th anniversary
courtesy photo
Loren and Bonnie Clary
Hey savvy news reader! Thanks for choosing local.
You are now reading
1 of 3 free articles.
RONAN — A new scholarship will soon be available to graduates of Ronan High School.
Worth $1,000, the Loren and Bonnie Clary Scholarship was established through the combined efforts of their children and a family friend to celebrate the couple’s 60 years of marriage on Dec. 27.
“My parents are givers. They have given to others their entire lives,” Pamela Wiese, daughter, wrote of the Clarys. “Over the years we have had countless surprise parties for them… This year, when talking with my brothers, we decided that instead of a party, we would give them the gift of giving to another.”
In their six decades together, the hardworking couple has always been a team. Every few years the family would move to a new farm and work together to restore it before moving onto the next. During Loren’s years working for the National Bison Range, he drove past the Moiese Mercantile every day until he and Bonnie decided to buy it and run it side by side.
Despite the demands of their day-to-day work and the undertaking of raising four children of their own, no matter where they lived there were always “extra” children living with them that the Clarys had taken under their wing.
“When people call a place Grand Central Station? Yeah, that was our house... They don’t know how to relax,” Weise laughed. “They’re just so generous.”
Loren spent much of his life involved in farming and heavy machinery. Bonnie ran the home, sewing clothes for all the children under their roof and cooking healthy meals. Their work ethic has passed down to their progeny, who now say they want to pay it forward to hardworking kids getting their start.
In keeping with the couple’s passions, the chosen applicant for the scholarship will have an interest in agriculture, fish, wildlife and parks, home economics, culinary arts, or fashion design. The student will need to be enrolled in either a two- or four-year university with proof of a minimum 2.75 GPA from their first semester.
“The goal of the Loren and Bonnie Clary Scholarship is to prepare children for life, which is exactly what they did for their own children. If our scholarship can help a student achieve their dreams of attending college, we know that this is the best gift we could give our parents,” Wiese stated.
Details for the application are available at Ronan High School. Application packets are due March 15.
