A 60-year education career and strong family love now mean that students graduating from Honey Grove and Fannindel high schools will have scholarships to help them pay for an education at Paris Junior College.
The Harvey Lynn & Patsy Milton Scholarship Endowment was created by daughter Ruth Ann Jones and son Robert Milton to honor their parents.
The $200,000 endowment gift in their name to the Paris Junior College Memorial Foundation will benefit students graduating from Honey Grove and Fannindel high schools. Harvey Lynn Milton was an educator for 60 years and his son, daughter, grandson Justin and his wife Mallory and granddaughter Jordan have all followed in his footsteps.
“Both my parents grew up very poor out in the country,” said Robert Milton. “They taught us to work very hard, to be busy - if you’re busy you’re not in trouble - and have a good work ethic. They couldn’t always get the financial help they needed but they certainly had the love and examples. It’s important that my family and my sister’s family remember them this way.
“Education is very important. My parents saw how hard it was for some people to get an education. They wanted us to provide a way to help students better themselves."
“We are grateful for the gift from the Milton family honoring the great legacy left by their parents,” said Dr. Pam Anglin, PJC President. “This scholarship will continue that legacy of making a difference through education for students graduating from Honey Grove and Fannindel High Schools.”
Patsy Milton was a 1954 graduate of Honey Grove High School. Harvey Lynn Milton graduated from Ladonia High School in 1949 and received his Bachelor’s Degree from East Texas State Teachers College in 1953. He took great pride serving on the Texas State Beta Council for 36 years and was named a Board Member Emeritus. In 2010, the Fannindel School Board honored him by naming the Fannindel gymnasium the H.L. Milton Sports Complex.
“Anyone who wanted to get an education should have the opportunity to get it,” said Jones. “Kids can apply for scholarships and get an education no matter how poor they are, that education is accessible to everyone. My Dad thought you should go to school around here. If you lived in Fannin County, then you needed to go to Paris Junior College or Commerce, and Paris Junior College is a great place for students to start off and we wanted to support PJC.
"We’ve always been taught to help others and do what we could for others. We’ve been blessed with the opportunity to do this, we just want to do something to honor their name for future years.”
Both H.L. & Patsy demonstrated a love of children by being foster parents, caring for the sick, and always helping others. Both were named Citizen of the Year for Honey Grove. They were married for 62 years before Patsy passed away August 12, 2019. Harvey Lynn passed away February 4, 2022.
Lifelong natives of the Bugtussle community, the Miltons devoted their lives to their church, Oak Ridge Church of Christ, the Beta Club at the local, regional, and state level, and to serving on many community boards throughout the region and state. One of Milton’s favorite hobbies included farming with a John Deere tractor. He believed that everyone needed to work and he was always willing to help anyone in need.
“I knew growing up that I was going to be representing my grandparents no matter what I did," said Justin Milton, "so that was always on my mind to try to live up to their example. I went to PJC after graduating from high school. At the time, I didn’t know what I wanted to do but after my first semester at PJC, I knew I wanted to be in education and have been in education now for 12 years. I am who I am today because of the way they lived their lives.”
“Mr. and Mrs. Milton and their two children have spent their lives giving back to their communities and so selflessly assisting people,” said Baleigh McCoin, PJC Director of Intuitional Advancement. “PJC is fortunate to be a part of helping their legacy and impact live on.”
Gifts in memory of the Miltons may be made by sending your gift to PJC Office of Institutional Advancement, c/o Milton Endowment Fund, 2400 Clarksville Street, Paris, TX 75460.
For additional information, or to make a donation in honor or memory of another individual, please contact Baleigh McCoin, Director of Institutional Advancement, at (903) 782-0276 or bmccoin@parisjc.edu.