Violet Simmons retired in 1981 after nearly fifty years of devoted service as an educator. That fall, a testimonial dinner in her honor helped establish the Violet H. Simmons Scholarship Fund, which awarded its first scholarship in 1982. Over the course of her career, Miss Simmons touched the lives of thousands of young people, shaping not only their academic paths but also their sense of purpose, responsibility, and service to others.

Miss Simmons believed deeply in the power of education to change lives, seeing it not merely as preparation for college or careers, but as a means of cultivating engaged, ethical citizens. Her teaching emphasized academic rigor and personal integrity—values that continue to guide the mission of the Violet H. Simmons Scholarship Fund today. Across decades of change, she was known not only for her excellence as an educator, but also for the resilience, care, and devotion she showed her students.

After Miss Simmons’s passing in 2001, her generous bequest enabled the fund to expand and offer multi-year awards to multiple students—a legacy gift to future generations of Webutuck graduates.

In 2002, the Violet H. Simmons Scholarship Fund received a bequest from Barbara Thorlichen Riefle, Webutuck Class of 1964. Barbara was one of Miss Simmons’s former students and a generous supporter of the fund during her lifetime. In her honor, the Barbara Thorlichen Riefle Summer Enrichment Grant was established to support transformative summer opportunities for Webutuck graduates in college. Barbara’s own life reflected resilience, curiosity, and a deep commitment to learning—values at the heart of this program.

If the Simmons Scholarship represents Miss Simmons’s legacy gift to future Webutuck students, the Summer Enrichment Grant represents her students’ gift to those who come next—a lasting expression of the responsibility to pay it forward.

The Violet H. Simmons Scholarship Fund is a registered nonprofit, and its endowments are managed by the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation.