Helen and Freeland Williams Scholarship

Jane Stockton established the Helen and Freeland Williams Scholarship to help a Carterville High School graduate begin their matriculation at Southern Illinois University.

Jane’s parents, Helen (Gore) and Freeland Williams graduated from Carterville High School in 1933. Helen was valedictorian and Freeland captain of the basketball team (and an all-around athlete). Helen went to Brown’s Business College in Marion; Freeland started college at the University of Illinois. During this time in the depression, although he was on an athletic scholarship and received free tuition, he had to work to pay for his room and board and other expenses. This work plus the time spent in athletic practice left him no time to study and he was forced to drop out.

Helen and Freeland married in 1936 and spent their lives in Carterville. Their lives were centered on family, friends, and church (First Baptist). Though they themselves had been unable to attend a university, there was never any question that Jane and her sister would, and there was never any question where – it would be SIU.

Somehow Jane’s years in Carterville Schools along with discipline at home conveyed to her that education was serious business, that homework was not optional, and that teachers and administrators were to be respected. Jane graduated from high school in 1959 as valedictorian of her class (of sixty graduates); her sister, Janet, was salutatorian in 1963.

From Jane: “SIU opened the world to me. From the time I entered I was introduced to new thoughts, new people, new activities, both in and out of class. I hope every freshman experiences the exhilaration I felt. I can remember sitting in the library studying with my boyfriend (now my husband) and reading aloud to him something I had just learned. I guess I don’t recommend talking in the library, but what a joy to be excited about new information! As I contemplated what I wanted my legacy to be, I knew I wanted to help make it possible for other students to experience that excitement.

I have had a fortunate life; I have had good jobs, a wonderful husband, and great children. I never cease to feel blessed, and I never stop being grateful for the start I received in Carterville and at Southern Illinois University.”

Freeland Williams died in 1968 and is buried in Hillcrest Cemetery, Carterville, IL. Helen Gore Williams died in 2014 at the ripe old age of 99. She is buried next to Freeland.

• Scholarship for an incoming freshman from Carterville High School.
• Recipient must have a minimum GPA of 3.0 (B average) and have demonstrated financial need as determined by the SIU Financial Aid Office.