Patrick Pullen, second from right, is the first recipient of a $500 Kelli Johnston Memorial Fund financial aid award. Standing on either side of Pullen are Kelli's parents, Anton and Sherri Johnston. Robin Terronez of Central Texas College, where Pullen will study, is at left. (Courtesy of the Johnston family)
Patrick Pullen, second from right, is the first recipient of a $500 Kelli Johnston Memorial Fund financial aid award. Standing on either side of Pullen are Kelli's parents, Anton and Sherri Johnston. Robin Terronez of Central Texas College, where Pullen will study, is at left. (Courtesy of the Johnston family)
Kelli Johnston ()
NAPLES, Italy — When Sherri and Anton Johnston needed financial help to offset costs from their daughter’s death and funeral, the community responded.
They’re now returning the favor.
“Many people from the European theater, not just Naples, sent donations in to the Kelli Johnston Memorial Fund. We used those funds for expenses we incurred at that time, but now want to pay that money back to the community through financial aid awards,” Sherri Johnston said.
Kelli, 18, had been working toward an associate’s degree in Italian studies and a bachelor’s degree in psychology. She was killed April 29 in a car crash near the U.S. Navy base in Naples.
“Education was very important to Kelli … and her education was very important to us,” her mother said. “We’re looking for a way to pay back a little bit to the community who had helped us.”
From the memorial fund set up in Kelli’s name, the Johnstons doled out the first of what they hope are many financial aid awards.
Patrick Pullen, 19, received the first $500 award to help defray college costs as he pursues a Microsoft certification from the Central Texas College campus in Naples.
“I think it’s really nice what they’re doing,” said Pullen, the fifth in a long line of 10 Pullen children, and the fourth going to college. “Their daughter would be happy that the money is going out to other kids to help them with school.
“I’m going to use the $500 ... to get me started with schooling here, pay for first term, and help pay off books needed for class,” said Pullen, the son of a U.S. contractor.
Donors contributed $3,660 to the memorial fund, some of which the Johnstons used to offset costs associated with holding three memorial services: one in Naples, one for Kelli’s friends in North Carolina, and one in the family’s hometown in Ohio.
They will restore to the fund what they used, and hope donors will continue to give in order to dole out more awards, she said.
In the coming weeks, the Johnstons will post a new “tab” on the memorial Web site, www.kellijohnston.com, to tell people how to apply for a financial award. Applicants will need to submit a 500-word essay on why getting an education is important, and how being a dependent in Europe affects the applicant’s goals, Johnston said. Students of contractors, civilian employees and military personnel are eligible. The Johnstons select the recipients. They hope to give out three $500 awards a year.
