Throughout southwest Missouri, from one-room schoolhouses to principals’ offices, Genevieve Roy impacted students’ educations and futures. Now, thanks to the generous gifts made in her honor by friends and family, her tradition of helping students achieve continues.
Genevieve (Montgomery) Roy grew up in rural Greenfield, Mo. during the 1930s and 1940s, and, following graduation from high school, she decided to translate her deep love for children into becoming a teacher. That goal led Genevieve to Springfield, where she sought teacher certification at (then) Southwest Missouri State College and graduated in 1953.
She began building up the young minds of the Ozarks in small one-room schoolhouses in locations from Meek to Mount Zion, until she opted to step away from the classroom and devote her time to raising her four children. She returned to education in 1977 and began an 18 year career as the secretary to the Principal at Stockton High School until her retirement in 1995.
The many students whose lives were touched by her work in education still remember her fondly today, including the current counselor and superintendent at Stockton High School who were both students there during her time in the Stockton Principal’s Office. Following her passing in 2005 her family and friends wanted to ensure her impact on the students of Stockton, Mo. would continue on in perpetuity through the creation of the Genevieve Roy Memorial Scholarship, which financially assists graduates of Stockton High School as they pursue their educational dreams at Missouri State University.
At the 2012 Stockton High School Awards Assembly the school announced the first-ever recipient of the Genevieve Roy Memorial Scholarship – Gunnar Hochstedler. Gunnar, from Jerico Springs – a small town 15 miles southwest of Stockton, was a top student at Stockton High and was active in the Band, Future Farmers of America, National Honor Society, and more. Gunnar has high hopes for his future, with plans to seek degrees in Computer Science and Software Engineering while at Missouri State, but the road wasn’t always so certain for him. He noted, “I always knew I wanted to go to college, but I wasn’t sure how I would ever pay for it. By receiving the Genevieve Roy Memorial Scholarship, all the pieces have fallen into place and I am so thankful that it has made so much possible for me.”
Cindy Busby, one of Genevieve’s four children, along with her husband Chuck (both of whom work at Missouri State) and Cindy’s brother Randy Roy and his wife Brenda presented Gunnar with the scholarship at the Assembly in Stockton. Cindy noted that, “being able to award the scholarship and help a student in honor of our mother was an indescribable, warm feeling.”
Family and friends can know with certainty that Genevieve’s legacy to education and to the students of Stockton, Mo. will live on for generations through the scholarship created in her honor.
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