Rebecca Dillon, daughter of Martha Shur, stands next to Cory Mata, the 2016 Martha W. Shur Scholarship Fund recipient.

During the time of year where high school graduations take place and scholarship awards are received, we are honored to announce the Martha W. Shur Scholarship Fund, a newly created scholarship fund at the DeKalb County Community Foundation. Established in memory of Martha Shur by her children, this fund captures her spirit of relentless running, community commitment, and educational endeavor, as it provides educational support for future generations of young athletic women at DeKalb High School.

Martha Shur was a long-time DeKalb resident, former elementary school teacher, and dedicated runner who passed away February 3, 2016.

Martha started running on the roads of Cape Elizabeth, Maine, in her mid-30’s. With running she found an outlet for her untapped athletic prowess and covered tens of thousands of miles in her lifetime. Around the age of 37 she developed lymphoma while training for a marathon. With ongoing treatment over the next 35 years, she credited her continued running as the reason behind her resilience and survival.

Martha moved to DeKalb in 1983, along with her husband and two young children, at which point she truly hit her stride on the flat, friendly stretches of DeKalb County roads.

She was a sweet and caring woman for whom education was very important. As a former public school teacher herself, she valued DeKalb’s strong school system and the opportunities it provided for her family. She also loved the supportive DeKalb community that was so welcoming to her and her family.

Scholarship funds are a great way to support and promote further education of the youth in our community. To date, over 65 scholarship funds have been created through the Community Foundation. To discuss setting up a fund that meets your charitable interests, or to contribute to an existing fund, please contact Dan Templin, Executive Director, 815-748-5383 or dan@dekalbccf.org.