FIRST, BUT NOT LAST: The Dahlberg family set up the Community Foundation’s inaugural scholarship fund; to date, nearly 140 more donors have followed suit.
THE NAMESAKE: Donald (Donnie) David Dahlberg was a 16-yearold Jupiter High School student who tragically passed away in an automobile accident.
A VIBRANT LIFE: Outgoing and sociable, Donnie played football, held first chair in trumpet, and is remembered fondly as a happy light with a big heart.
SINCE 1983: 45 Jupiter High School students have received a Dahlberg Scholarship through $77,000 in awards.
On Christmas Eve of 1982, an accident on A1A forever changed the lives of Jupiter’s Dahlberg family. Their 16-year-old son, Donnie, was driving home from a holiday party in stormy weather when he collided with another car, ending his life and unintentionally changing the trajectory of thousands of others’ lives.
“Instead of opening presents on Christmas Day, we were looking at burial plots,” remembers LaRue Dahlberg, his mother, now 95. “We wanted to do something to honor him. Donnie was such a vibrant young man, full of life and promise. It seemed right to help other young people like him continue their education.”
Fellow church members and neighbors began to donate, and soon LaRue and her husband Donald, an engineer at Pratt and Whitney for over 30 years, sought a partner to collect, grow, and administer the funds that totaled $10,800.
The sum wasn’t huge in LaRue’s estimation, but a neighbor was on the Community Foundation’s Board of Directors and convinced her that philanthropy starts in all sizes. She connected the Dahlbergs to the Community Foundation and the couple opened the organization’s inaugural scholarship fund in 1983.
“I thought we would give one or two scholarships. But it just grew and grew — even one of my fifth graders eventually received a scholarship!” says LaRue, who was an elementary school teacher for over 30 years.
“I never had the idea that Donnie’s scholarship would kickstart such a big program at the Community Foundation, but I’m happy that his life and legacy have had a ripple effect on an entire community,” said LaRue.
— Lea Abito
Dahlberg Scholar
Florida International University
Class of 2028
