Hardin-Simmons University Establishes Andrew Holt Ballew Memorial Scholarship

ABILENE, TX (08/10/2011)(readMedia)-- The Andrew Holt Ballew Memorial Scholarship has been set up at Hardin-Simmons University for eligible students who are members of Trinity Baptist Church in Sweetwater. Eligibility for the scholarship also requires a 3.0 grade point average, impeccable conduct and behavior, and the student must meet the acceptance standards of the university without special qualification.

Other potential recipients who are not members of Trinity Baptist Church may be considered for the scholarship with preference given to graduates of Sweetwater High School.

Andrew Holt Ballew was born in 1943 in Longbeach, California, while his father served in WW II. After being discharged from service, the family settled in Sweetwater when Andy was two years old. Suffering from a rare form of cancer, he died when he was only 18. Ballew has been lovingly remembered by his family with a recent scholarship set up in his name at Hardin-Simmons University.

"Andy was best known by his friends and family as an unforgettable Christian. He was also loving, appreciative, cheerful, cooperative, considerate, brave, and a determined achiever," says Sherry Barsch, his sister, now living in Levelland, TX.

Ballew contracted polio at age eight, which greatly affected his right arm and left leg. He was sent to rehab at Warm Spring Foundation in Gonzales, Texas, but family was not allowed to be present except for two-hour visitations on Sunday afternoons. After four months, he returned home to become one of the first 13 patients of the West Texas Rehab Center in Abilene, TX.

In the spring of his junior year of high school, he was diagnosed with cancer on his polio-affected leg. Despite the amputation of his leg, the cancer spread and claimed his life during his senior year at Sweetwater High School.

"Andy learned to walk a total of seven times in his young life and was never heard to say the words, 'I can't,'" remembers his mother, Mary Ballew, now living in Brady, Texas.

Ballew's aunt, Pauline Ballew, has been a major force in the establishment of the fund at HSU and is still living in Sweetwater. Also, sisters, Sherry Barsch and Cindy Loutherback, and his mother, Mary Ballew of Waco, TX have worked diligently to have the scholarship fund ready to extend to its first recipient.

Marking the 50th anniversary of Ballew's senior year in high school, the scholarship has been awarded to Sweetwater High School valedictorian Leila Rubio who will attend HSU in the fall.

The scholarship is eligible to receive other contributions. Those donations can be made to the Andrew Holt Ballew Memorial Scholarship by contacting HSU development officer Russell Leavenworth, at (325) 670-5825 or rleavenworth@hsutx.edu.