Learning for life’s changes: WSU alums’ gift helps new generation access college education

From meeting as teens through over 50 years of marriage, Rich and Linda Detering’s lives were shaped by educational experiences connected to Washington State University.

Linda’s lifelong passion for teaching and Rich’s interest in serving others live on through an endowed gift that helps new generations from their home region gain a college education.

The Richard and Linda Detering Scholarship provides full WSU tuition for students from southwest Washington, with a focus on former 4-H participants studying early childhood or human development.

“4-H had a bigger impact on our lives than I ever expected,” Rich said. “We wanted to do something that made a difference for others.”

A shared trajectory

Rich and Linda were born five months apart in Lewis County, Washington, but Linda’s earlier birthday put her in the class ahead of Rich. She attended school in Chehalis, while he grew up in the nearby town of Adna.

As teens, both were active 4-H members. Linda focused on sewing and baking, while Rich was involved in electrical and photography projects.

“We knew of one another,” Rich said. “I thought of her as the glamour girl who was the song leader at the State 4-H Conference we attended. She thought I was this nerdy kid.”

That glamour girl and nerdy kid followed their interests to WSU. Linda earned her home economics education degree in 1968, while Rich earned his engineering degree the following year. They became a couple during college after taking jobs in the local WSU Lewis County Extension office.

Rich’s connection with the university goes back to his grandparents, Herman and Nellie Detering. The pioneer couple raised their family on 160 acres of forest on the Chehalis River acquired in 1899 from the original homesteader. Of his grandparents’ 10 children, several studied at Pullman, and Rich’s uncle Fred graduated from Washington State College in 1927. WSU Extension’s strong local presence and service to Lewis County agriculture also connected the Deterings to the university. 

“The whole family had an affinity for WSU,” Rich said.

Rich and Linda began their married life together by moving across the country to Buffalo, New York, where Rich started his career as an electrical engineer at Westinghouse Electric Corporation. A year earlier, Linda had begun her lifelong career in in education as a seventh-grade home economics teacher in Bellevue, Washington. When a friend in Buffalo invited her to teach at a preschool, she jumped at the chance.

That early experience teaching young children defined her career, Rich said. During the family’s moves across the country, Linda always taught in preschools. Later, she joined the Parent Education and Early Learning Department at Bellevue College, retiring after 25 years.

“She loved teaching preschool children and their parents,” Rich said.

The couple’s impactful experiences in 4-H, college, and their careers influenced their gift. Before Linda’s passing, in 2021, at age 75, they talked with CAHNRS staff about creating their award. Rich followed through on their united interest in establishing the joint scholarship.

“We realized we got where we were because we had a college education,” Rich said. “To whom much is given, much is required.”

The current scholarship recipient, Ione Sheldon, is, in many ways, following in Linda’s footsteps.

Raised in Ocean Park in an oyster-farming family, Sheldon is a human development major working to become a family and consumer sciences (FCS) teacher.

“I had a great experience growing up because I had a few really good teachers who helped guide me through school,” she said.

FCS is about learning to be a successful member of society, Sheldon said. It encompasses skills needed throughout life’s changes.

“Our courses cover everything from cooking on a budget to financial management to raising kids,” she said. “We prepare people for real life. Schools are recognizing this as they add family and consumer sciences and career and technical education back to the classroom.”

“FCS instructors deliver courses that help support healthier individuals, families, and communities,” said Debbie Handy, scholarly professor in WSU’s Department of Human Development. “They’re also doing prevention work on a daily basis. We know that healthy relationships with adults can reduce youth involvement in risk behaviors and create safer school environments.”

Sheldon shadowed her teachers at Ilwaco High School earlier this year and is now student-teaching at larger schools in southwestern Washington. These real-world learning experiences have confirmed that she is on the right path.

“It’s too easy for teens to get lost and feel like they don’t have support,” she said. “I want to be a person that students can rely on.”

Sheldon feels lucky to be the scholarship recipient for two years running.

“It’s truly had a huge impact on my life and the lives of my family,” she said. “All I can say is thank you so much!”

For Rich Detering, the scholarship has grown in meaning as he learns about Ione’s educational pursuits.

“She commented that she wanted to start a sewing class at Ilwaco,” he said. “More power to her!”