Virginia R. Urquhart Scholarship Fund

As secretary at North Kingstown High School to the two assistant principals who dealt with discipline, Bob Urquhart’s wife Ginny dealt with troubled kids who came from troubled homes; she knew every one of them and they knew that Mrs. Urquhart always had a desk drawer full of goodies. “She was someone who cared about them and would listen to them,” says Bob Urquhart of his wife of 50 years, who died in January 2022. After 20 years at the NKHS, her illness forced her to quit.

“She made me go to every graduation—one year, the valedictorian said ‘If it wasn’t for Mrs. Urquhart, I wouldn’t be standing here.’ They even gave her a special award that year—everyone knew Nana Ginny, and they adored her.”

At the start of every school year, she would pick two young women, take them out to lunch, then take them shopping for fall school clothes (with permission from the administration as well as parents). “That’s the kind of woman she was. She was a surprise every day, and I loved that about her.”

“Ginny will be remembered for her generosity, kindness, hugs, and advice, whether you asked for it or not! One day, I woke up and knew what I wanted to do for her. I was familiar with the good work the Rhode Island Foundation does and always read their annual reports.” Bob worked at Brown and Sharpe where a colleague’s family started a memorial fund at Rhode Island Foundation; he saw it in the annual report and was inspired—“I said I like that idea—it’s so her.”

“I contacted the Foundation and we created the Virginia R. Urquhart Scholarship Fund.” Starting 2023, the fund will provide two $1,000 scholarships for North

Kingstown High School graduates especially those going to a technical school or other job-based training. Ginny knew that college was not right for everyone. Bob remembers that many of his Brown and Sharpe coworkers had not even graduated high school, much less college. “Yet they were passionate about what they did and proud of their work.

“I announced the scholarship program at her memorial service and our friends thought it was perfect. This scholarship fund will be Ginny’s legacy, to recognize her personal contribution to the students of ‘her school’. Her quiet involvement in so many young people’s lives will now be recognized by the community.”