Skip to content

His legacy lives on

First World War vet's bursary still helps students.

A BRITISH Army veteran from the First World War who died here in 1974 left a financial legacy that continues to this day.

It takes the form of a bursary financed by the interest earned on $100,000 provided by Frank Morris in his will and meant to further the educational needs of those who meet the qualifications.

Originally meant for veterans from Terrace and their immediate families when awards first began in the mid-1970s, the qualifications have broadened slightly over the years, explains longtime Legion member Mary Ann Misfeldt who sits on the three-person bursary committee.

“It’s open to any relative of a veteran who must have either been a resident of Terrace and area at the time of enlistment or have lived in the area for a minimum of five years after an honourable termination of service,” she says.

The person applying must have been a resident of Terrace for the immediate past two years, she added.

“If a person, for instance, is going to school elsewhere but who calls Terrace home, then we take that into account.”

Financial need is a key consideration for the bursary committee and it is not limited to students graduating from secondary school and applies to those taking any type of post-secondary education.

Misfeldt said the size of the bursary awarded each year can vary and is determined by the amount of interest earned in a year.

“There have been times, when the interest rate has been very low, we have dipped into the principal,” she said.

Not much is known about Morris, said Misfeldt who even made a trip with a grandson to the old cemetery last month to uncover his headstone.

“We discovered that Frank Morris was born on Sept. 27, 1888 and died on Nov. 11, 1974.  He was a lieutenant in the British forces during the First World War.”

Misfeldt noticed the significance of Morris’ death date, the same date that the First World War ended.

In conversations with local people, Misfeldt also learned that he was in the real estate business here, that his wife predeceased him and that the couple had no children.

He apparently lived in a house where the Royal Bank now stands.