Scholarship honors legacy of John P. Foss

When John Foss was a child, dyslexia kept him from learning to read until he was in the eighth grade.

As a young man, he earned a Bachelor’s degree in English and then a Master’s Degree in education – and became a teacher who specialized in teaching children to read.

Foss spent his entire career dedicated to public school education in New Hampshire, culminating with an 11-year posting as a school principal in Milford, NH. He died in 2020.

A scholarship in his name has been established by his wife, Judy Foss. The scholarship benefits students from Milford who have faced disabilities or hardships such as homelessness or mental health challenges; or students studying to become educators who will help children who have faced disability or hardship.

“John had a special place in his heart for kids who struggled with learning,” Judy Foss said.

“It is my prayer that John’s scholarship fund will perpetuate his legacy of love, and that future generations will benefit from the scholarships and appreciate that John was a man who cared.”

The first awards will be made from the scholarship this year. The scholarship will be administered by the Charitable Foundation and advised by a committee at Milford High School. More than $11,000 is set to be awarded from the fund this year.

The Charitable Foundation is the largest provider of publicly available student aid in New Hampshire, providing some $7 million in student aid each year from hundreds of individual scholarship funds.

For information about how to apply for the Foss scholarship, students from Milford should contact Paul Christensen, Milford High School Director of Student Services, at (603) 673-4201, ext. 3611.

People who wish to contribute to the John P. Foss Memorial Scholarship Fund can do so at: https://give.nhcf.org/SupportaSpecificFund.

“The community brought him such joy,” Judy Foss said. “I can feel his pleasure in this scholarship, and in giving back to the community. I just hope that John’s name, for generations to come, will be associated with love and kindness. Because that was what he was all about.”