In Memorium for Sergei Cleaver Thomas
Sergei Cleaver Thomas was born
February 23, 1925, the son of Cleaver S. and Nadine Thomas. He entered
Westtown School from his home in Mineola, NY, in the fall of 1933, boarding
with other young boys at the school. Sergei Thomas graduated from Westtown
School with the Class of 1942. Throughout his years at Westtown, Sergei
was active in many aspects of school life. He played soccer, captained
the tennis team his senior year, and was a member of track teams that
participated in the Penn Relays. Sergei also acted in theatrical productions
at the school. He was a contributor to the school newspaper, The Brown
and White, throughout his time at Westtown, and he served as its editor-in-chief
his senior year. In 1936 he received Honorable Mention in a grade school
poster contest sponsored by the Women's International League for Peace
and Freedom with his poster captioned, "Smoke Out of Factories, Not
Cannons." Sergei often submitted essays to Westtown's Peace Essay
contest, winning the junior division in May 1939 with his essay on Denmark's
method of improving its self-government and how that would keep the country
out of war. He also served on the school's Peace Committee which planned
programs and secured speakers. An article by Sergei Thomas in the school's
alumni magazine, The Westonian, in Autumn 1947 recounts his participation
that past summer in the Young Friends Conference at Earlham College which
focused on "Christian Dedication in Spirit and Works." In his
senior year at Westtown, Sergei was admitted to the school's Triangle
Honor Society.
According to an entry in The Westonian, Sergei entered Haverford College after Westtown, working as part of that school's peace group and serving on the staff of the Haverford News. Notes for the Class of 1942 in The Westonian in June 1943 include Sergei Thomas's plans to enter a reconstruction unit. Another note in February 1944 puts him in a CPS camp in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. The Spring 1948 issue of The Westonian includes mention of Sergei Thomas's engagement and plans to marry in June, followed by an editor's note that Sergei was drowned April 24, 1948, when his canoe upset in the Delaware River near Trenton.
The Westonian, Summer 1948, includes mention that a group of friends of Sergei Thomas, "believing that the goals which Sergei had set for himself are goals that other young people should strive towards, have set up a Memorial Fund to further these aims. The Fund will be used to aid young people working for peace either on the international or the individual level. There is a need for dedicated youth in these areas."
Information compiled from sources in the Westtown
School archives
by Mary Brooks, 12/2009.
SERGEI THOMAS and HALEY YARMARK MEMORIAL FUND
WHO CAN APPLY?
No separate application – requests are made via registration process.
PURPOSE:
Assist young people participating in PYM Young Friends or Middle School
programs.
APPLICATION:
The Sergei Thomas and Haley Yarmark Fund is an internal scholarship program
that allows young people to attend programs and activities of the Young
Friends and Middle School Young Friends even if they do not have the money
to cover the fees. There is no outside application to the fund and it
is used in conjunction with the Tyson Scholarship Fund. Friends (and non-Friends)
do not apply to the Fund itself, rather, individuals indicate need on
the registration form and register by the deadline. We encourage Meetings
to assist in sending Young Friends and Middle School Friends to conferences
and request that youth first go to their meetings for scholarship assistance.
Deadlines are the same as conference deadlines.
ESTABLISHED:
Memorial to Sergei Thomas, a Young Friend drowned in a canoeing accident
in 1948 and Haley Yarmark, a Yound Friend killed in a car accident in
2007.
PRINCIPAL: $39,748 market value 6/08
ANNUAL INCOME: $2,291 (FY 07-08)
GRANT SIZE: $5 - $150: all or part of the fee for an event.
PROJECTS:
Conference registration costs.
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