Henry Stowers welding farm equipment

The Community Foundation for Loudoun and Northern Fauquier Counties (CF) is honored to announced that a newly gifted scholarship fund has been created to benefit graduates of Loudoun County High School (LCHS). Henry C. Stowers’s estate created the Loudoun County High School Scholarship Fund with a $665,000 endowment and will make an annual award of approximately $20,000 per year to four students. The award will be renewable for four years for a potential of $20,000 in total support to each LCHS graduate recipient. The first scholarship was awarded to Danning Bisaga, a 2018 graduate of LCHS who plans to attend the University of Virginia this fall and pursue her interest in studying psychiatry or psychology.  “This is a wonderful opportunity. Thank you,” stated Bisaga.

“This fund is a substantial gift to Loudoun County. We are honored to have been chosen to steward its growth to ensure hundreds of graduates of Loudoun County High School benefit from this incredibly generous gift,” said Amy Owen, president of the Community Foundation. “By all accounts, Henry was a very kind soul who was a ‘giver, not a taker.’ This scholarship fund is an example of his spirit of giving.”

Stowers was a lifelong farmer and an avid photographer. He served on the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors from 1972 to 1979 and on the Loudoun County Soil and Water Conservation District from 1980 to 1986. He also held leadership positions in many Loudoun County and regional organizations, including service on the boards of the Loudoun County Farm Bureau, the Southern States Cooperative, the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Committee, and the Planters’ Club. He also was a longtime supporter of the Loudoun County 4-H, served on the board of directors of the Northern Virginia 4-H Center, and was a strong supporter of the 4-H Fair, which was dedicated to him in 1991. At the state level, he was appointed by Governor George Allen to the Governor’s Small Grains Board and was reappointed to the board by Governor James S. Gilmore, III.

Danning Bisaga, first recipient of Henry Stower’s Loudoun County High School Scholarship Fund

Stowers, who was killed in an automobile accident in 2001, was recognized by the Virginia General Assembly in 2002 as being “well-known and highly respected for his agricultural expertise, generosity, integrity, and leadership… a man of exceptional integrity and dedication to Loudoun County, and… a fine Virginian.”

According to his sister, Mary Hope Worley, Stowers mentored many youth, and this scholarship fund is a reflection of his desire to create a legacy in this fashion.  Mary Hope presented the first scholarship award during Loudoun County High School’s most recent graduation program. In her remarks, she said “My brother was an amazing man of many interests and talents and had a heart for service. He was a great neighbor, ready to help when there was a need. For example, he plowed out their driveways after a snow storm.  He could fix any kind of farm machinery and could design or adapt any piece of equipment to meet a need, whether it was for use on our farm, the need of neighbor, or the church.”

With each successive year, the scholarship fund will add one additional Loudoun County High School recipient until four students are benefitting from his philanthropy at any given time.

Recent Articles:
Scholarship Fund Created in Memory of Loudoun County Supervisor Stowers (Loudoun Now)
Henry C. Stowers estate creates scholarship for Loudoun County High School grads (Loudoun Times-Mirror)