Claremont McKenna College has established a scholarship fund to honor the memory of Alice Marie Roberts, an Eagle Rock woman who left the college $1,926,684 following her death last year.
"We are honored that Ms. Roberts chose us to be the primary beneficiary of her estate," said Jack L. Stark, president of Claremont McKenna College. "The money will allow us to provide greater scholarship assistance to deserving students."
The gift will generate nearly $100,000 in annual scholarship support to meet the financial need of Claremont McKenna College freshmen. The scholarship recipients will continue to receive support as long as they remain in good academic standing.
"Alice Roberts was an avid, astute, and intelligent investor in the stock market, researching all of her transactions on her own," says Roger Lopez of the Pasadena law firm Aspell & Lopez, which handled the Roberts estate. "Although the family trust was established by her grandfather, Dr. Charles Roberts, M.D., Alice's efforts greatly enhanced the size of the trust to its current level of almost two million dollars."
Alice Marie Roberts died on July 19, 1998 in the Eagle Rock section of Los Angeles, where she had lived for many years. She was raised in Highland Park and attended Occidental College in Eagle Rock.
Ms. Roberts had a life-long interest in travel and photography, which was sparked by her father, who took her on a cruise to New Zealand and Australia as a high school graduation gift. She traveled throughout her life and became known for her photography of the Southwest United States. Her photographs of the Arizona desert and countryside were published in Arizona Highways magazine.
During World War II, she accepted a commission from the U.S. Marine Corps. While she served most of her tour of duty in Washington, she was briefly sent to the front lines to do battle scene photography, one of the first women allowed to do so. Following her discharge, she conducted travel tours to destinations across the Pacific Ocean including New Zealand, Australia, Micronesia, Japan, and China.
Claremont McKenna College is a highly selective independent liberal arts college preparing students for responsible leadership in business and public affairs. CMC enrolls 1,000 students and is a member of The Claremont Colleges.