George & Helen Guy Memorial Scholarship & Recipient Lillian S. Jackson

By Becky Crabtree

George and Helen Guy both graduated from Waiteville High School in 1946 and 1948, respectively. George graduated from Concord College in 1950 and married Helen Hall that September. He served in the US Air Force from 1951 to 55, then graduated from the University of Virginia Medical School in 1959. Helen received on-the-job training in both accounting and secretarial work at the Air Force Base in Texas and at the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Following George's residency in Akron, Ohio, they moved back to Monroe County in 1960, where he opened Guy's Clinic in Union. They had five children, but Helen worked throughout the clinic's history as a receptionist, nursing assistant, bookkeeper, and office manager. They were married for 52 years when George passed away in 2003. Both were active in the county's 4-H program and advocates for education.

George served a short stint on the Monroe County Board of Education during the tumultuous late 1960's, and both served on the Citizens for Better Schools committee at that time. Both were supporters of the Union High School music/band programs.

Helen continued that support long after all of her children had graduated from high school. Helen's childhood dream was to go to college after high school and become a nurse; however, her father said, "Girls don't go to college," and as a result, she became a passionate supporter of her children's college education. She was able to take LPN training when the family moved back to WV, and some of her fondest memories were of assisting her husband in the delivery room with Kitty Ellard, Violet Hinkle, Pauline Fisher, and others.

When George passed away in 2003, she insisted that, instead of flowers, donations be made to the relatively new Monroe County Education Foundation "to support scholarships for those who wish to pursue health-related careers." It is because of Helen's lifelong desire for a college education, coupled with the impact George Guy made as a physician here in Monroe County (delivering nearly 2000 babies in his tiny clinic in Union), that their children make this scholarship available to Monroe County residents wishing to pursue post-secondary education in health-related fields.

The scholarship is unique among those offered by the Monroe County Education Foundation, as it supports a student who has completed at least one year of college for at least the next three years.

The current recipient is Lillian S. Jackson. Jackson graduated from JMHS in 2022 at the top of her class. She was a star basketball and volleyball player for the Lady Mavericks and earned state track medals in both the high jump and the long jump. The senior class voted her "Most Athletic" girl.

Jackson commented about the Guy Family Scholarship that she earned, "The Guy Family Scholarship has been a great help during my time in college. It has helped me manage my college expenses, reducing the stress of paying for school and allowing me to stay focused on my studies. The scholarship has empowered me to strive for excellence and give back to my community in the same spirit of investment and care. I am currently a first-year student in the Occupational Therapy Master's program at James Madison University, after graduating from Concord University with my bachelor's in health science. I completed my bachelor's in three years through an accelerated program and was named Health Sciences Student of the Year for the Concord University Spring 2025 Graduating Class. As a future occupational therapist, I am passionate about serving rural communities throughout southern West Virginia and southwestern Virginia. I strive to bridge gaps in access to therapy services for rural populations."

This is one of a series of articles about the Monroe County Education Foundation. Information about the Guy Family Scholarship was first published in the Monroe Watchman in 2018, written by Dr. George Guy.