Greg Welch, right, with the five Warren High School scholarship recipients.

DOWNEY – Greg and Barbara Risher Welch own Risher Mortuary, a small business that has an office in Downey and is a member of the Downey Chamber of Commerce.

The actual mortuary is in Montebello and is a member of the Montebello Chamber of Commerce.

Greg and “Barb” are both actively involved in many civic groups. Greg is a chaplain for the Downey Police Department, has gone on many humanitarian missions around the world, and is active in the Downey YMCA, Rotary Club, and the Downey Chamber of Commerce.

Barb has leadership roles in the Montebello Chamber of Commerce, YMCA, and the Rotary Club. They are each genuine, giving people. Together, they are a mighty force for good.

A few years ago, they created something very special in our community. At eight local high schools, they give $500 scholarships to graduating seniors who are examples of “caring for others”. The scholarship is actually called the “Caring for Others Scholarship”.

This year, they gave twenty $500 scholarships, a total of $10,000, to students who truly care for and serve others around them. Imagine that!

Greg and Barb Welch are not rich. They are simply hard-working people whose lives are centered around giving to others.

Barbara’s parents, Ray and Marge Risher, began Risher Mortuary in 1959. After the passing of her parents, Barbara and Greg continued with the family tradition of caring for the grieving families throughout the community.

“We truly consider our funeral business a ministry to the bereaved,” said Barbara. “Since the community has embraced us with their confidence to help them through life’s most difficult time, Greg and I decided to give back in a way that would attempt to further the attitude of caring for others.

“It is a simple concept that is sorely missing in today’s society.”

Greg continued, “So we developed the ‘Caring For Others’ idea from a concept of encouraging graduating seniors to simply compose an essay about how they are going to use their next level of education to “Care For Others”.

“We award each winner $500 to be used for their higher learning. It doesn’t matter what their GPA is nor what field of study they will pursue.

“People from all walks of life have the ability to serve others at some point and in some way. Whether the educational journey of these terrific young people is through a four year university, community college or trade school, focusing on caring for others will definitely make our world a better place.

“Barb and I are so impressed by the heartfelt words these kids use to express their desire to serve, that we can’t help but feel that their future, and ours, is headed in the right direction”.

2019 winners are:

Downey High School:
Mona Makhlouf
Kaila Vasquez

Warren High School:
Issac Munoz
Karen Travieso
Vianna Ramos
Dariel Leflore
Thalia Panerio

Columbus High School:
Shamiyah Campbell
Justine Reyes

St. Pius/St. Mathias Academy:
Mariana Nunez
Darwin De Castro

La Serna High School:
Chelsi Hall
Allison Kataoka
Luke Garcia
Johanna Ortuno

Santa Fe High School:
Eliana Touch
Seoleen Lee

Montebello High School:
Jacqueline Candela
Fernanda Jimenez

Schurr High School:
Kia Harlan

Risher family gives $10,000 in scholarships