Cary Kibby-Deck Memorial Scholarship
Inspired by their son’s memory and the goal of creating a resource for students pursuing higher education in a technical or vocational field, Dr. Thomas Kibby and Amaryllis Murphy established the Cary Kibby-Deck Memorial Scholarship in 2025.
Cary Kibby-Deck attended college after graduating from high school in University City. After completing his bachelor’s in general studies, he struggled to find meaningful work. After five years of employment in the restaurant industry, he began to see a future for himself in hospitality. Sadly, Cary passed away at twenty-nine years of age before he was able to fulfill his potential.
Dr. Kibby’s medical practice focused on treating patients who had experienced a workplace injury. Most of these workers were young men, many of whom, like Cary, had initial difficulty settling into a career path. Motivated by these young workers who demonstrated good work habits but struggled to gain meaningful employment or get promoted without technical training and certification, Dr. Kibby created this resource so that more people will be able to access the technical training and certification that lead to stable, family-sustaining careers.
The Cary Kibby-Deck Memorial Scholarship provides grants of up to $5,000 annually to students enrolling in trade, technical, associate degree, or vocational programs at accredited, nonprofit institutions of higher education. These grants are renewable through graduation or for a maximum of six semesters. Scholarship funds may also be provided to cover initial career-related costs students may encounter, such as tools, supplies, or certifications necessary to practice their trade.
To be eligible for consideration for this scholarship, applicants must meet the following criteria:
- Be a resident of the St. Louis metropolitan area for at least two years prior to the date of the application or have graduated from a St. Louis metropolitan area high school in the past two years.*
- Demonstrate significant financial need, as determined by the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or similar need calculations.
- Have a 2.0 cumulative grade point average or higher.
- Be seeking a first technical, associate, or vocational degree.
*The metropolitan area includes St. Louis City, the Missouri counties of St. Louis, Franklin, Jefferson, Lincoln, St. Charles, or Warren, and the Illinois counties of Bond, Calhoun, Clinton, Jersey, Macoupin, Madison, Monroe, or St. Clair.
