Endowed Scholarship Fund - Unrestricted

John William McEwen Memorial
Scholarship
Represented by Mr. J. Knox McEwen '66 of Petersburg, Virginia, and
Ms. Martha Frank of Tappahannock, Virginia.

The John William McEwen Memorial Scholarship assists an outstanding cadet-athlete who participates in a non-revenue Division I athletic program at VMI who, preferably, matriculates from the Hopewell-Petersburg-Colonial Heights area of Virginia.

This scholarship honors the memory of a man known as "Mr. Tennis" in the Tri-City area of Virginia. He was born in Dinwiddie County, but moved with his family and seven siblings to Matoaca about 1910. He attended Petersburg High School and eventually joined the Charles Leonard Hardware Company in Petersburg, where he worked as a salesman for 30 years.

Growing up during the Depression, the McEwen children built a clay tennis court next to their home, which they and all the neighborhood children played on every day.

Not ever having taken one lesson, McEwen won his first tennis tournament in 1936 and continued to play the sport he loved for over 65 years, up to his 85th birthday. He coached his sport for over 20 years in the Tri-City area and made a substantial contribution in promoting the sport and touching the lives of many tennis students of all ages during his career.

He also enjoyed hunting and his religion.

His son, J. Knox McEwen, attended VMI and graduated with the Class of 1966, earning a BA degree in civil engineering. He, too, enjoys the sport of tennis and was a member of the VMI Tennis Team during his cadetship.

Bolling died in June 1994.

(Parts of this were taken from a short biography prepared by his son and daughter.)

Cadet Colin B. Miller '11 (Baseball) is recognized in the name of the John William McEwen Memorial Scholarship for the 2007-08 school year. He is pictured above with his mother, Mr. Knox McEwen '66, fund representative, and his father.