Lifelong educators Bob Suess and Barb Scholtz have created a new endowed scholarship through the Vandalia-Butler Foundation to honor Bob’s sister, Sally K. Owens, whose kindness and grace touched generations of students, staff and families.
A 1976 Butler High School graduate, Owens served the district she loved for 29 years as an administrative assistant, working with three superintendents. Known for her warmth, humility and respect for others, she treated everyone equally — no matter their title or status.
Owens, 66, died from leukemia in May, but her legacy will live forever. Each year, one Butler High School senior with financial need who embodies her spirit will receive at least $1,000 to support his or her educational journey.
Suess, a 1970 Vandalia-Butler High School graduate, and his wife have devoted decades to improving education, particularly for underserved students. They spent much of their careers in the Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS), where he served as a middle school social studies teacher and middle and high school principal, and she worked as a middle school English, math and science teacher.
Following their tenure with CPS, Suess directed the University of Cincinnati’s GEARUP partnership grant (a federal college readiness and access program) and launched the Gen-1 Theme House (the nation’s first residential program for first-generation college students). Scholtz served as a CMStep administrator/instructor who trained secondary Montessori teachers. She finished her teaching career at Clark Montessori Junior/Senior High School, the country’s first secondary Montessori school.
Together, they championed educational reform efforts, such as team-based instruction and faculty-led governance. They also helped CPS start the nation’s first Paideia school, which features a strong liberal arts curriculum with lectures, individualized coaching and Socratic seminars.
“Throughout our personal and professional lives, we have been deeply committed to the belief that education is critical to our nation’s effort to develop enlightened citizens, productive workers and lifelong citizens, all of which are necessary for America’s democratic form of government to survive and thrive,” said Suess, who holds undergraduate degrees from Wright State University and graduate degrees from Xavier University and the University of Cincinnati.
“Only through quality education for all can America hope to one day fulfill its promise of greater economic, political and social equality,” he said.
Scholtz, who earned undergraduate and graduate degrees from UC, shares that philosophy. “Our careers were devoted to improving educational equality and quality for our nation’s marginalized populations,” she said. “We always appreciated that our successes in this endeavor were often attributable to the efforts of support staff, working quietly behind the scenes in schools and district offices.
“Bob’s sister, Sally, was one of those tireless support workers whose often anonymous and unnoticed efforts helped teachers to teach and students to learn.”
The couple established the Sally K. Owens Memorial Scholarship “to recognize and honor her life and career, both of which she spent in selfless devotion to others, especially the students of the Vandalia-Butler school district and the teachers and administrators who work with them.”
They hope to build the endowment with gifts from family, friends, former colleagues and community members to increase the size and number of scholarships awarded annually. Make an online gift here.
In 2025, the Vandalia-Butler Foundation awarded $65,375 in scholarships to 35 outstanding graduating seniors from Butler High School. Interested students apply in the winter through a process coordinated by the Vandalia-Butler Foundation’s Education Fund Advisory Committee, guidance counselors and The Dayton Foundation. Recipients are honored at Senior Awards Night in the spring.
For more information about how to start a scholarship fund, send an email to info@vandalia-butlerfoundation.org or call Michelle Brown, director of scholarship services for The Dayton Foundation, at (937) 225-9965.