Erin Y. James Memorial Scholarship Fund

The Erin Y. James Memorial Scholarship honors the memory of a young woman who succumbed to cancer at an early age. The fund provides scholarships to seniors of North Union High School ranked in the top 25th percentile of their graduating class. Special consideration is given to those pursuing careers in the equine industry or in oncology. Erin loved horses.

The James Fund was created by Erin’s uncle and aunt Steven M. and Geri L. Lust in 2006. The Lusts are also the creators of Marion Community Foundation’s Stephanie Lust Memorial Scholarship Fund, in memory of their daughter, and the Lust Family Fund, a designated fund which benefits the Ackerman Medical Fund at Emanuel Lutheran Church in Marion.

According to Geri, the fund was created in memory of her niece who was only 20 when she succumbed to cancer. Geri, who also knows the pain of losing a child, explains that before her daughter Stephanie died in an auto accident, she wanted to do something to help cancer victims like her cousin, Erin.

“This fund is how we, as a family, are honoring both of these great kids,” Geri said.

Erin’s mother and Geri’s sister, Beverly James, added, “This fund is a wonderful thing for our family. It has made our family stronger and more emotionally supportive. Our girls were both cousins and friends.”