Evelyn Mead Parsons started this fund in 2003 as a permanent memorial to her husband Edgar Russell Parsons, Sr. and to her son Clark Edwards Parsons. Evelyn was a 1940 Woodrow Wilson High School graduate who attended Lindenwood College in St. Charles, Missouri her freshman year and graduated from West Virginia University. She taught public school for two years and taught private kindergarten in her home for twelve years. She encouraged her extended family to consider donating to the endowment rather than purchasing gifts for various holidays and birthdays. Community needs and opportunities change over time, and unrestricted funds offer flexibility to respond as conditions change.