CLARKSVILLE, Tenn (CLARKSVILLENOW) – The Austin Peay Foundation recently received a gift of $100,000 from APSU alumnus Dr. Edward W. Chester (’62). The funds will be used to establish the Bonnie M. Chester Endowment to honor the memory of his late wife. Chester gave an additional $8,000 to fund scholarships during the investment period.

The scholarship will benefit sophomores, juniors or seniors enrolled full-time at Austin Peay with a major in biology. Applicants must have a 3.0 GPA. The scholarship is renewable for recipients who continue to meet the criteria each year. The Biology Department Scholarship Committee will select a maximum of two recipients annually.

Before retiring in 2008, Chester spent 42 years at Austin Peay as a professor of biology. He continued teaching part-time for eight more years after that. He now completes his research and writing as a professor emeritus. Most mornings, he can be found in the Sundquist Science Building greenhouse.

Bonnie Morrow Chester was born on June 21, 1944, in Henrietta, Tennessee. She graduated from Clarksville High School and went on to attend Austin Peay, where she met Chester. They were married for nearly 56 years. They have one son, James Edward Chester, one granddaughter, Skylar Judith Chester, and one grandson, Gage Dean Chester.

Bonnie was a longtime bookkeeper for the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System. She was an avid seamstress who delighted in making doll clothes and decorative quilts. Early in their marriage, she loved hiking trails with her husband. Chester said his wife later developed hobbies such as gardening, reading and sharing God’s love and life’s blessings with her grandchildren and all the neighborhood kids.

Chester added that Bonnie was a dedicated Christian and a member of Mt. Pleasant United Methodist Church for more than 50 years. There she served terms as the treasurer, children’s Sunday School teacher and worked on numerous committee assignments. She passed away on Saturday, Jan. 12, 2019, at Tennova Healthcare after a short illness.

“Bonnie was my wife, best friend and lifetime companion,” Chester said. “She was blessed with a gift of service and giving. Her compassion, generosity and love for both friends and strangers, especially the youth, is well known. Her acts of kindness ranged from a kind word and a shoulder to lean on, to a helping hand that took many forms. She was highly respected and loved by all who knew her. This endowment will continue her legacy of service and giving by perpetually providing scholarships in biology to deserving students.”

Endowments are permanently restricted funds managed by the Austin Peay State University Foundation. The amount of each scholarship award may vary and will be determined based upon the value of the endowment and the Foundation spending plan.