Fleet and Chester Wynne Endowed Presidential Scholarship in Education

Jun 14, 1987 | EPS/EPF

Created in 1987 by Jo Alice Wynne Tomforde in memory of her parents, the Fleet and Chester Wynne Endowed Presidential Scholarship in Education provides financial support for perspective teachers in the State of Texas.
Mrs. Fleetwood Staley Wynne and Mr. James Chester Wynne

Through this gift Mrs. Tomforde seeks to honor her parents’ memory in their example of helping young, deserving students receive a college education. Mrs. Tomforde’s mother, Mrs. Fleet Wynne, graduated from the College of Industrial Arts in Denton, TX in 1920, the college that later became Texas Women’s University. Mrs. Tomforde’s father, Mr. Chester Wynne, went to work after graduating from Dallas High School in 1914, first for the Home Insurance Company. Later he was active in oil development in East Texas and South Texas. Both Fleet and Chester were interested in educating themselves, their children, and other young people. They felt that education was the best way to ensure that our nation leads the world. To that end, they assisted many young people in their pursuit of a college education, helping young people succeed in their chosen vocations.

Chester Wynne died in 1976 and Fleet Wynne died in 1977 in Tyler, TX where they had resided for over forty years.

Mrs. Tomforde states: “It is a privilege that the scholarship has assisted, even in a small way, 20 students over the past years. I have received numerous letters of gratitude from recipients. It is reassuring to know that these young people are and will continue to be meaningful in the education of others.”

“There was no better way that I could honor my parents than to establish a scholarship in their names. I chose the College of Education because I believe the need for well educated and well trained young men and women to teach the growing population of our state is paramount to secure our public education system.”

Mrs. Tomforde received a B.A. in English from The University of Texas in 1947. She served on the Alumni Advisory Board to the College of Education for several years. Her granddaughter, Fleetwood Wynne McNabb Cunningham, is a 2006 graduate of The University of Texas School of Law.

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