November 24, 1998
J. Kenneth Higdon of Prairie Village, the retired president of the Business Men's Assurance Company of Kansas City, has made a gift of securities and cash of $49,500 to the Kansas University Endowment Association. Along with $1,000 in matching gifts from BMA, the funds established the endowed Sherin H. Custer Memorial Scholarship Fund. The total of $50,500 met the goal Higdon set when the scholarship was created at KU Endowment in the fall of 1996.
Gifts from other donors and income on the investments have brought the current market value of the fund to $53,800.
Named for Higdon's daughter, a jewelry maker who died in 1996, the fund provides financial support for KU students to pursue summer study in their specialty of metalsmithing or jewelry making.
"Thoughtful scholarships such as this allow students to expand their knowledge, enrich their education and have a memorable experience that will be with them throughout their professional lives," Zeller said. "We in design are grateful to the Higdon family and hope that we are able to honor their intent and the memory of their daughter and sister, Sherin."
This summer the fund helped Susan Small-Frutello, junior in fine arts from Lawrence, study at the Penland School in Penland, N.C., and Eugenia Ortiz, junior in fine arts from Burlington, Vt., join the KraftWerk symposium in Los Angeles.
"Our family believes this particular form of scholarship complements Sherin's essence," Higdon said. "She was committed to her craft in a very deep and giving way and always appreciated the opportunity to learn more. We believe she is pleased with this memorial scholarship, which provides a small opportunity for other talented persons to learn and grow in their calling."
Barbara Higdon of Lawrence said her sister, Sherin, would have been especially happy to know that her name would be associated with the kinds of opportunities the scholarship fund will make possible.
"Sometimes when you are afforded that exposure to new ideas, the experience can make something click within you that would be the tap to the wellhead," Barbara Higdon said. "I think Sherin would be thrilled because these opportunities will make it possible for some of these students to move on to a new level of creativity that will lead them down a path of great reward and adventure."
Sherin Higdon Custer graduated from Shawnee Mission East High School in Prairie Village, Kan., in 1973 and earned a bachelor of fine arts from the University of Kansas in 1978. Her dream was to open her own jewelry design studio, her father said, so she continued her education at the Gemological Institute of America in Santa Monica, Calif., graduating in 1981. She then worked several years in Kansas City, where she was one of only two certified gemologists in the metropolitan area. She married Robin Custer in 1987 and moved to Fremont, Neb. In 1989 she opened a custom jewelry design studio, Sherin's, in Fremont.
Sherin Higdon Custer had a son, Shawn Custer, a stepson, Jade Custer, and a stepdaughter, Tiffany Custer. Her mother, Shirley E. Higdon, lives in Lenexa. She was a member of the First Congregational United Church of Christ in Fremont and was active in the Fremont Tennis Association and tennis leagues. She died May 16, 1996.
J. Kenneth Higdon earned a bachelor's degree in business from KU in 1948. He served from 1956 to 1984 with Business Men's Assurance Company in Kansas City, rising from a sales position to president of the company in 1977. He retired in March 1987.
Higdon's professional associations encompass a wide range of activities in the insurance field, including the Health Insurance Association of America and the Life Insurance Marketing and Research Association. He is a life member of the Alumni Association. He is a past member of the School of Business board of advisors. He and his wife, Mary, were married in 1991.
Barbara Higdon graduated from KU with a bachelor's degree in business administration and accounting in 1987. A son, Jay K. Higdon of Lee's Summit, Mo., also attended KU. Another son, Donald S. Higdon, lives in Mission Hills. In August, Kenneth Higdon's granddaughter, Jayne Higdon, began studying architecture at KU.
The gifts will be administered by the KU Endowment Association, the official fund-raising and fund management organization for the University of Kansas. Founded in 1891, the Endowment Association is the oldest foundation of its type at a public university in the United States and one of the largest.