The Foundation Commemorates 25 Years of Holding the Phil Rich Memorial Scholarship

The Philip Rich Memorial scholarship is the oldest scholarship held at the Huntington County Community Foundation because the scholarship predates the foundation by two decades!   The scholarship was transferred to HCCF in 1997. Commemorating the 25^th year of holding the scholarship, the foundation wishes to honor Philip Rich’s memory and legacy by sharing his story.

Marvin Philip (Phil) Rich was born on Friday, April 13^th, 1951, in Huntington, Indiana.  According to his mother, Marilou Wardrop, he was naturally creative and highly motivated.  She tells the story of a 5-year-old Phil disassembling a non-functional alarm clock.  When he put it back together, the alarm clock worked! By the 5^th grade, he knew he wanted to become an electrical engineer. Phil continued tinkering with things at home, once constructing a scooter powered by a sewing machine. Phil was dependable and a man of his word. One time, while meeting friends out of town, he had promised his mother that he would be home at 9 pm.  The phone rang at the Rich household at 9 pm, it was Phil explaining that he and his friend had taken a wrong turn and would be home a little later.

Phil loved playing basketball. Many Sunday afternoons he would receive calls to join the pickup basketball game at St Peter and Paul Catholic Church parking lot.  He was an outstanding member of the Huntington County Community High School basketball team coached by Marvin Tudor.  Coach Tudor remembers Phil as a “very nice young man, no one ever had anything negative to say about him”.  Phil was a junior when Tudor began as head coach of the Vikings Basketball Team.  His growing body and basketball skills were still developing that year.  Tudor and other observers thought that Phil would be an outstanding player in his senior year. Phil proved them right.

In December of 1968, Phil’s senior year, he had 23 rebounds against Bedford in the Huntington Invitational Basketball Tournament.  16 of those rebounds were offensive. This placed Phil in the record books for the Huntington High School and Huntington North for total rebounds.  The record remains in place today.  He also led the Vikings in points that championship game, scoring 20.   In 1969, just weeks before he was diagnosed with cancer and battling mysterious symptoms, Phil played on the team that won the regional championship. Throughout his high school career, Phil made 47% of Field Goal attempts, and 68% of Free Throws. He had 259 rebounds and 401 points.

In his free time, Phil was a coach’s assistant and helped teach elementary school children basketball skills. Throughout his high school years, his interests and community service expanded.   In addition to basketball, he was involved in the Trinity United Methodist Church Youth Group and was Vice President of his senior class. He was also a member of the H Club, the Spanish Club, and the Football Team.

After a few months of illness, Phil was diagnosed with cancer in April of 1969.  He would graduate from Huntington County Community High School later that spring.  His illness prevented him from attending college full-time, but throughout his cancer treatment, he took a class at Huntington University (then Huntington College) to continue his studies.  Though his cancer made class attendance extremely taxing, Phil persevered to make it to campus for his class.

Phil passed away in March of 1970 from his cancer.  His mother, Marilou Wardrop, and sister, Diana (Rich) Reed survive, and both currently reside in Huntington. Phil was posthumously awarded the 1969 student of the year award by Huntington University.   In 1970, friends, family, and school personnel established the Philip Rich Memorial Scholarship to preserve his memory and honor his legacy. Each year it is awarded to a graduating male senior from Huntington North High School.  Applicants are selected based on his potential to achieve his educational goal, financial need, school, community, and church citizenship, and contributions to school athletics.  This year’s recipients are Harrison Niswander and Kegan Landrum.  They mark the 55^th and 56^th scholarships awarded in Phil’s memory.