Both Amy Jean (Allen) Roberson and John A. Roberson were born and raised on farms near Woodland, Washington and graduated from Woodland High School in 1943, when WWII was at its peak. John joined the Navy in June ‘43 and was sent to officers’ training school. He received his commission as Ensign in March ‘45 and was discharged from the Navy in June of ‘46. Amy enlisted in the Navy WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) in January ‘45, received basic training at Hunters College in New York City, and served in Washington, D.C. Navy Communications Department. In the fall of 1946 Amy and John enrolled at Washington State College, he in Civil Engineering and she in Textiles and Clothing. They were helped by the G.I. Bill, which paid tuition, fees, books, and equipment, plus a stipend applied to living expenses. Amy’s first introduction to WSC was during a 4-H trip that she won as a result of the dress that she entered into the Cowlitz County Fair when she was about 14. That was the beginning of her dream to attend WSU. Amy has had a love of fabrics from the time she made her first pajamas from flour sacks, to the junior and senior high school and college wardrobes, then silk wedding dresses, children’s clothing, tailored suits, wool shirts, and on to quilts. John and Amy were married August 17, 1947. Amy made her wedding and attendants’ dresses out of an entire bolt of surplus parachute silk for an all-white wedding. John then earned his B.S. in Civil Engineering in 1948. One scholastic achievement on which both Amy and John collaborated was the publishing of textbooks, Engineering Fluid Mechanics (in its 10th edition) and Hydraulic Engineering, along with co-author Clayton Crowe. Later, after Roger was born in 1950 and twins, David and Janice, followed in January of 1951, Amy earned her B.A. in Home Economics in 1954 by taking one course each term. She is a member of Omicron Nu, the Home Economics honorary. All three Roberson children are WSU alumni: Roger attended and was in the Honors Program. Janice (Paulsen) earned a B.S. in Nursing summa cum laude in 1976. David earned a B.S. in Microbiology/Bacteriology in 1973 and was also in the Honors Program.
Award Requirements
The income from this fund shall be used to award one or more scholarships to undergraduate students according to the following criteria: Sophomore, junior, or senior majoring in Apparel/Textiles, Human Development, or Human Nutrition; Demonstrated financial need; Academic ability evidenced by satisfactory academic progress toward a degree in the recipients’ major field.