W.F. West and John Coffman Trust Scholarships

W. F. West Scholarships

William F. West was a longtime civic leader and business owner in Chehalis. In 1947 he and his wife Blanch E. West gave eighteen acres on 16th street for the location of what is now
W. F. West High School. In 1956, the Wests revised their will so that their estate would be used to create a 2.2 million dollar trust to provide scholarships to Bearcats needing help in paying for postsecondary education.

The first W.F. West Scholarships were awarded in 1968 and have been given every year since. Thousands of graduates have benefitted from the West Scholarships. The Wests hoped that not a single Chehalis graduate who was capable of being successful in college would be denied the opportunity of higher education because of finances.

John Freeman Coffman Scholarships

John B. Coffman was a local business owner. In 1972 Coffman and his wife Zylpha Coffman had their wills rewritten to create the John Freeman Coffman scholarship trust named for their son John, who died in an auto accident shortly after graduating from W. F. West. The Coffman trust states, “often for lack of funds, boys and girls of superior ability upon graduation from high school are unable to proceed further with their education.”

The West and Coffman Trust was established to support students with financial need in their post-secondary endeavors.