GW "Bill" & Norma Klapwyk Scholarship

The G.W. ‘Bill’ and Norma Klapwyk Scholarship was established by the family and friends of G.W. “Bill” and Norma Klapwyk and donated in their memory. George W. “Bill” and Norma Maluy Klapwyk were Grand Valley Natives. Bill graduated from Fruita Union High School in 1945, and enlisted in the United States Army, where he rose to the rank of Sargent. Bill was honorably discharged from his service to our country and returned home and enrolled at Mesa College, where he studied accounting while taking a temporary job as a ditch rider for the Grand Valley Water Users Association. He was Sophomore Class President, and graduated from Mesa with an associate’s degree in accounting in 1949. Norma graduated from Fruita Union High School in 1948 and then went to work as a telephone operator in Grand Junction. In February 1953, Bill and Norma married and settled in Grand Junction and began raising a family. In 1966 Bill became the Grand Valley Water User’s Association Manager and for over 42 years he worked for the Association delivering water to the people of the Grand Valley. Norma worked for nearly 35 years as a telephone operator. The recipient of this scholarship has shown a continuing commitment to achieving their educational goals, while contributing to the agricultural well-being of their community. Bill and Norma want to help a student pursing a degree in agriculture.