ALUMNA’S LEGACY WILL BENEFIT EDUCATION STUDENTS            

On January 16, Lakehurst lawyer Robert Novy presented President R. Barbara Gitenstein and representatives from the College with a symbolic check in the amount of $1,339,000 from the estate of Mary Myketiuk ’34. Once the details are worked out, the College expects to provide up to five scholarships a year worth up to half the cost of tuition to School of Education students who qualify on the basis of financial need and academic standing. 

What very little we know about the details of Mary’s life comes from a second cousin, Lois Maloney, the executrix of her estate, and from Mr. Novy, her attorney. It was they who helped carry out Mary’s wish that nearly all her estate be placed in a trust that will provide scholarships to students at TCNJ.

Hand-written records in Green Hall show that Mary attended the College from the fall of 1930 to June 1934, when she graduated with a BS in English, prepared to teach English in secondary school. She had been active in Sigma Sigma, a sorority with a tradition of Shakespearean studies, and Kappa Delta Pi, the education honor society, as well as The Seal. As a senior, she received the Elizabeth Allen Scholarship, worth $50 when full tuition was $100.

It is not clear whether Mary ever taught school full time. The records show she substituted and held a variety of jobs as a stenographer, secretary, and computer programmer for firms such as GE Services, Blue Cross of New York, and AGS Computers.

Ms. Maloney described Mary as very intelligent, sweet, gentle, and quiet, with a wonderful sense of humor and fun to be with, even while sick in the hospital. She and her sister traveled often to Europe, Canada, and the Western states, lived simply and invested their savings. Mary died in 2004 after several months of heart trouble. She was 90.

Toward the end of her life, Mary expressed the wish to do something significant for others, something that would enable her to keep the Myketiuk family name alive. She felt a gift to the College that created a number of Myketiuk scholarships would serve that purpose.

President Gitenstein was thrilled with the donation, saying, “This is a wonderful gift and will go a long way to toward helping with the education of future teachers.”