Lehigh Carbon Community College has established a scholarship in memory of a Lehighton man.

Thanks to a generous contribution it received, LCCC will provide scholarships benefiting both full- and part-time students from the Lehighton and Allentown areas.

The Byron L. Shoemaker Foundation and its trustees Jim M. Wood, Nancy L. Matyascik and Richard A. Cassar, established the scholarship in Shoemaker’s memory with a $300,000 gift.

In addition, in honor of the gift, the Student Union at the college’s main campus in Schnecksville will be renamed in his honor.

Dedication of the renamed space will be held next spring when the signage is unveiled.

A native of Lehighton who also lived in Pottstown and Macungie before settling in Allentown, Shoemaker passed away in February.

Shoemaker was a 1969 graduate of Lehighton Area High School, and later Lebanon Valley College. He also earned his MBA from Lehigh University.

He was a strong believer in the community college mission.

Shoemaker was a certified public accountant, working with Dreslin & Company, then with Cappelletti, Shoemaker & Co., and finally as a sole practitioner.

He is survived by two sisters, nieces and nephews and his partner, Jim Wood.

The Shoemaker Scholarship will be given to students preferably majoring in health care, accounting, business administration, business management or education. Recipients can be either a recent high school graduate or returning adult, and must be living in Lehighton or Allentown.

Funds will be disbursed beginning the fall 2018 semester.

“Mr. Shoemaker believed in the mission of the community college, and this gift reflects his generous spirit,” says LCCC President Dr. Ann D. Bieber. “He also wanted to make sure that students from the Allentown and Lehighton areas received support to ensure they could attend college, so the funds will be directed to those areas. In addition, we will be able to honor Mr. Shoemaker’s legacy when the Student Union on our main campus is renamed the Byron L. Shoemaker Student Union this spring. We are honored to be able to carry on his legacy.”

For information on the scholarship, contact Silvia Maldonado-Vargas, executive director of the LCCC Foundation, at smaldonadovargas@LCCC.edu, or 610-799-1711.