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"I didn't want his name forgotten,"says Colette Turina, a Central Catholic parent from 1969-1979 and long-time Central Catholic supporter. Forty-four years ago, Colette and her husband, Don, set up a scholarship in memory of their son, Kevin, who died during basketball practice in the Memorial Gym at Central Catholic. We sat down to talk with Colette and her son Steve '73 about the lasting legacy they created at Central Catholic to honor Kevin.
The Kevin Turina '75 Memorial Scholarship is awarded annually to a junior with a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or higher who, like Kevin, participates in athletics, shows willingness to cooperate, is polite and kind, and is generous in offering services to the school and others.
Each year, Colette has a hand in selecting the recipient (a practice that is no longer in place but was grandfathered in for Colette from the early days of our scholarship program). She says she always looks forward to going through the applications and has read every single one the school has given her. "I prefer the ones that aren't typewritten," she said with a hearty chuckle.
"She does spell check (each essay)," Steve adds. And then to his mother, "You brought in one person's essay and I think you had it red-lined for him and you gave it back to him. But, you still gave the scholarship to him."
"Probably," Colette replies. "I mean, if you are going to do something, do it well."
This year, after reading through each application, Colette chose Ricky Bui '19 as the award recipient. Colette says he stood out because of the service he has performed at Oregon Food Bank, Blanchet House, St. Francis Dining Hall, and a youth basketball camp. She liked that his essay reflected an appreciation for his teachers, coaches, and those in his life who have encouraged him to succeed and shared their time and talents with him.
In May, Ricky joined Colette and Steve for the annual Endowment Scholarship Breakfast. In the last two years, we have transitioned away from the more formal awards presentation and now invite each recipient to a breakfast on campus to meet the representatives behind the scholarships they receive.
This year, more than 370 people streamed into the cafeterias for the event. It has become an opportunity to build community and allows us to honor the legacy these families have created with these scholarships. This is the fortieth year that we have presented endowed, merit, and memorial scholarships. This year we awarded over $290,000 to our students and their families.
Congratulations to all of the students receiving awards. And a big thank you to everyone who makes these scholarships possible*.
Steve Turina Tells Tales
"One of (Colette's) claims to fame at Central Catholic: My brother, Mike ('72), was a very good basketball player here. He played varsity. He was a very good free throw shooter and he'd get fouled constantly. There was a time in the old gym when my mom and dad would always sit across from the scorer's table, basically off to the right. She had her own method of cryptic notes she kept; meticulous information she kept in a spiral notebook. Everybody knew who she was. She was at every game. There was a discrepancy between the two books and they had to figure out what to do. They decided to go over and confer with her for a verdict."
"Another fun story was, of course (the school) was built on a graveyard. They moved all the graves when it was built, at least all that they knew about. [. . .] But, what some of the guys would do was, the field was grass then and well-worn because there was only one field for everything going on. Guys would go up to the butcher shop and get a good femur bone from there, bury it, and get the freshmen all wound up like 'Bones are coming up out of the ground.'"
*We are sorry to report that Colette Turina passed away on January 27, 2020. However, her legacy endures through her children and grandchildren, and through the Kevin Turina '75 Memorial Scholarship.