Lisa Eid Endowment Established at Catholic Foundation of Maine to Benefit Local Students
PORTLAND---A new endowment established through the Catholic Foundation of Maine will provide a scholarship to a Maine high school senior who plans to enter a science-related field, most especially one focused on cancer research.
The Lisa Eid Scholarship Endowment was established in memory of Lisa Eid, a Lewiston native who died from cancer in 2021 at the age of 53. Lisa’s husband, Dave, says they knew little about science before Lisa was diagnosed with stage 4 non-smokers lung cancer in October 2014, but after that, they were determined to learn as much as they could.
“She went into survival mode, and she learned so much about this disease, as did I, talking to some of the top oncologists in the world, question after question,” said Dave. “Science became a passion for her.”
Dave said Lisa wanted to stay alive as long as possible to be there for their son, Drew, and daughter, Danielle, and most especially, she prayed she would be able to see Danielle graduate from high school, something she achieved. Danielle is now a sophomore at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, studying to become a research oncologist.
“That is extra time Lisa asked God for, so she could see more hockey games, more basketball games, graduations, and God granted her that. Then, after the graduation, it was time. She knew that. We knew that, and we know that she is in a better place,” said Dave.
Dave said Lisa’s deep Catholic faith helped her through the difficult years.
“Her faith was so strong. It was unbelievable. It was a lesson that she taught us all. Knowing that death was imminent, she still managed to smile, and she never once asked, ‘Why me?’ or anything. I think that’s all from her amazing faith in God. I’m sure there was a reason that He needed her.”
Dave describes Lisa, who was a graduate of St. Dominic Regional High School, as someone who lived her faith and was a beacon of light for others. He hopes the scholarship will allow that light to shine brightly for years to come by both benefiting a student and keeping Lisa’s memory alive.
“I hope that he or she will look at the scholarship not only as a little bit of helping them make that next step to college but, also, maybe they will learn a little about Lisa and her fight and know that in life, anything is possible if you believe, if you have faith. She was proof of that because when you get a stage 4 diagnosis right off the bat, and you live for six and a half years with this disease, that is pretty good,” said Dave.
The endowment was established through the help of Chris Bessie and Lou Dearborn, who donated proceeds from their annual Battle for the Whistle Golf Tournament, a charitable event that pits high school coaches against officials. They knew Dave through his longtime work as a sportscaster for WGME.
“They approached me and said, ‘How would you feel about putting a scholarship fund together in your wife’s name?’ And honestly, my eyes filled up with tears,” Dave said.
The amount of the scholarship will depend on how much the endowment grows, but Dave says that he would like it to be at least $1,500, so he plans to make up the difference until it pays out that much.
Donations to the endowment can be made online at www.catholicfoundationmaine.org. Click on giving and then online giving and select the Lisa Eid Scholarship Endowment from the endowment list.
For more information about this or other endowments, contact Elizabeth Badger, executive director of the Catholic Foundation of Maine, at 207-321-7820 or [email protected].
