Donald L. Pahl Sr. was born in October 1933 in Bridgeport, Ohio and spent his childhood living in Eastern Ohio and the Cherry Hill area of Wheeling. He began playing the trombone in grade school and continued through high school. He attended Morehead State College in Kentucky and later transferred to West Liberty State College, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in music education. After he graduated and began teaching, he volunteered as the band conductor for the West Virginia State Penitentiary. He was a well-respected music teacher at Cameron High School in West Virginia as well in Barnesvills and Irondale, Ohio. He later taught students with specific learning disabilities for the Ohio Department of Youth Services and Columbus City Schools at Yorktown Middle School. Donald integrated his love of music into his service in the U.S. military. While serving in the Marine Corps he was a member of the Marine Corps Band and later the bandmaster of the 338th Army Reserve Band. Donald and Cynthia L. Stickley were married in 1992. He was survived by his son, Donald Lee (Sharon) Pahl, Jr.; daughters Lori (Peter) Tankel and Kirsten (Oliver) Heinton; brothers, William (Dorothy) and Fred (Anne Dee); sister, Phyllis (Ray) Dunkel; and aunt, Dorothy Boston.
The four-year scholarship is to be awarded every fourth year in the amount of $2,000 ($500 per year/$250 per semester to one incoming freshman music education major.
Requirements: Incoming freshman with a declared music education major Students must have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 and a minimum score of 22 on the ACT or a minimum score of 1,030 on the SAT.