Investing in the Future: John Carabba Scholarship

We are proud to award the 2020 John Carabba Scholarship to two Anacortes High School Seniors. Ellison Kephart will study nursing at St. Martins University. Isabelle Willoughby will study biology or nursing at the University of Washington.  We are happy to invest in the future of these two students!

Island Hospital established this scholarship in 2010 to honor the memory of S.A.’John’ Carraba, a dedicated health care volunteer. John Carabba contributed to Island Hospital and the health of our community on a continual basis, starting in the early 1960’s until his death in 2009. In 1977, he was instrumental in establishing the Island Hospital Health Foundation, as it was known then, and he served on the Board of the Foundation for over 30 years.  He helped raise $88,000 for an expanded Intensive Care Unit and was instrumental in raising over $250,000 to expand and modernize the emergency room. His legacy is deep, with service to the U.S. Navy in the South Pacific, many local service clubs and boards and as a successful entrepreneur. He built the first local airport and owned several businesses which, over five decades, employed Fidalgo Island youth. The Island Hospital Foundation established this scholarship in 2010 to recognize and honor Mr. Carabba’s contributions and accomplishments, and it is their greatest hope that the recipient of this award will follow his example of dedication to community health and community service.