Okerlund Family Trust Scholarship

Emmett Okerlund's wish was to pay back the community for the education he so valued by providing scholarships to help promising students expand their horizons through a college education.
Emmett Okerlund, the youngest of seven children, grew up in Anacortes in a family of modest means. After graduation from AHS, he enlisted in the Navy, fought in World War II and worked as a salesman for a paper company in Bellingham. Upon retirement, Mr. Okerlund and his wife, Helen, were able to move back to Washington State and settled, for the last time, at Hood Canal, where he was able to do what he loved best—boating and fishing. He died in Shelton, Washington in November 2003, at the age of 90. Mr. Okerlund treasured his education in Anacortes and left his entire estate to the Anacortes Schools Foundation. His wish was to pay back the community for the education he so valued by providing scholarships to help promising students expand their horizons through a college education. He also hoped that recipients of his generosity would one day follow his example and fund an Anacortes Schools Foundation Scholarship for another deserving student. These scholarships are awarded to students with exemplary academic achievement.