It started with $6,000 and uncertainty.

Scott and Phyllis Eckstein were only days removed from receiving news no parent ever wants. Their sons, Jake and Josh, had been killed when the pickup truck they were in hit a patch of black ice and slammed into a tree on March 29, 2019. They were both construction workers on their way to a job site.

Days later, Chad Swindle, president of the Taylor Northwest construction company, knocked on their door with a simple but powerful gesture.

“Whenever there is an accident or something happens to someone’s family at the construction site, they do a ‘pass the hat,'” Phyllis said. “They passed a hardhat around at the site after our boys’ accident and Chad brought us about $6,000.”

The Ecksteins appreciated the money but didn’t know what to do with it other than tuck it away in a safe where it sat for a couple of years. They still had a lot to process.

Honoring their memories

Five years later that money has become the seed for the Jake and Josh Eckstein Memorial Trade Scholarship Fund. It awards scholarships to high school graduates or students with GEDs in Deschutes, Jefferson and Crook counties who will attend a public community college or nonprofit or for-profit accredited trade school. The scholarship is for anyone interested in construction, mechanical or technical trades.

“Originally, we were just going to do it for the boys’ high school, but then we got put in touch with Oregon Community Foundation (OCF) and it has grown a lot,” said Phyllis. “It has really grown over the last six or seven months, and we now have an advisory committee that helps move this forward with fundraising and getting the word out.”

OCF helps provide structure and support for the Eckstein’s scholarship as one of 600 scholarship programs it manages. Scholarships are a deep part of OCF’s history dating back more than 50 years. The statewide foundation awarded $12.2 million to nearly 4,000 recipients across Oregon last year. Established in 2023, the Eckstein’s fund provided their first scholarship of $1,000 last year but will be expanding that to six $1,000 awards in 2024 because of an outpouring of generosity.

Phyllis said her sons did not excel in the classroom, but they were hard working members of the pipe crew at Taylor Northwest. It was their love of the outdoors and never being afraid of a hard day’s work that led the Ecksteins to develop a scholarship for students like their sons. They see trades as jobs to be proud of and want to ensure future generations can succeed.

“We have rewritten our will so that this is a perpetual fund that will keep going long after we are gone,” said Scott, whose sons were 21 and 19 at the time of their deaths.

Phyllis notes with pride that when Jake was 20, he earned $70,000, had a 401K and health benefits. She said that is why the criteria for the scholarship is not necessarily designed for 4.0 students, but ones who more closely mirror her sons.

“When parents talk to their kids around the table about education after high school, I would like the trades to come up as part of the conversation,” she said. “We didn’t think about it with the boys, but the trades can be such a good option.”

Helping hands

The establishment of Jake and Josh’s fund inspired a far broader group of contributors than the Ecksteins ever imagined.

One of them is Erica Davis, co-owner of Harcourts The Garner Group Real Estate. She works with the Ecksteins to get their message out across the state and set a fundraising goal of $10,000 during this past holiday season. All funds would be matched by others with the hope of reaching $20,000.

“Because of their efforts, we have raised about $140,000 over the last several months,” Scott said. “Several businesses, individuals and unions have all donated.”

Furthering the effort is KC Caldwell, a Bend radio personality at The Twins 98.3 FM determined to spread the word over the airwaves.

“When she came to us, she said that the trades people are their listeners and they wanted to help,” Phyllis said. “Because of the money we have been able to raise recently, we expect to give out five scholarships at $2,500 apiece in the future.”

Brothers and a bond

Jake and Josh grew up in Bend with a love of the outdoors that included fishing, camping, hiking, snowboarding and a typical sibling rivalry that saw Josh try to one up his older brother whenever possible.

“They were 27 months apart and they fought a lot when they were young,” Phyllis said. “One day, when they were both working construction, Jake came to me and mentioned how he was tired of Josh always goofing around and how he just wanted to be his friend.

“I told Josh that and told him if he couldn’t mature a little bit and be his friend then Jake is going to be done with him.”

That conversation was a significant turning point for the brothers, who formed an even tighter bond in their final months. They carpooled to work each day, watched out for each other and became best friends, Phyllis said.

Community of support

The bond the brothers shared is now something their parents enjoy with many friends and loved ones who knew their sons. The Ecksteins lost sons but became family to many more who grew up with them.

“We really have an extended family where kids will stop by to say hi or we will grill out and they will come over,” Scott said. “We have been able to learn a lot more about our boys since they passed through their friends.”

Phyllis said the cookouts have become tradition every couple of months where friends of their sons will stop for some food, but more importantly, to share a memory that popped up on social media or just to talk to them. Josh’s former girlfriend has since married and begun a family, but when she was pregnant with her first child, she asked the Ecksteins to be grandparents.

“We just had lunch with them and we really do have this bond with them,” Phyllis said. “The quality of friends that our boys had is just outstanding, so we feel we must have done something right raising them.”

Starting a scholarship fund is easy. With sound financial management by OCF, the fund grows over time to benefit even more students into the future. To begin a scholarship fund, contact an OCF donor advisor. Find out more at https://oregoncf.org/grants-and-scholarships/scholarships/