Manzon family scholarships open doors for WHS graduates 

As caps fly in the air at Waltham High School’s June 7 graduation, a number of seniors will have even more reason to celebrate. 

Thanks to the Manzon family of Waltham, seven students will receive thousands of dollars in scholarship support as they pursue careers in nursing and technical fields. 

“My mother grew up during the Great Depression and had to leave high school in her junior year to help support her family,” Nancy D’Ercole said. “She never completed school, but education remained extremely important to her.”

As a result, the Marion and Joanne Manzon Scholarship was created in her mother’s memory in 2002 and later expanded to honor D’Ercole’s sister Joanne, who passed away in 2022.

Marion Manzon spent a decade in a memory care facility while living with dementia later in life. According to D’Ercole, the family was deeply moved by the quality and compassion of the nursing care she received. Years afterward, Joanne faced her own battle with cancer and similarly experienced exceptional nursing care during her illness. 

The scholarship supports a deserving student with financial need who plans to study nursing. What began more than two decades ago as a $1,500 award has grown to $10,000 this year. 

“The scholarship has become a way of keeping our extended family connected,” D’Ercole said. “They’ve all contributed to and supported the effort over the years.”

Second scholarship

A second Manzon scholarship was established in 2019 by Marion’s son Peter.

The Peter Manzon Scholarship, which supports students pursuing technical or vocational careers, will grant six $12,000 scholarships to graduating WHS students.

The program has expanded steadily since its first year, when two $10,000 scholarships were awarded. By the end of this graduation season, the Peter Manzon Scholarship will have distributed roughly $322,000 to 35 graduates over seven years.

Peter, himself a lifelong Waltham resident, said the scholarships are intended to help students pursue their goals regardless of their financial circumstances.

“No one said life is inherently fair. The opportunity to help someone make the pursuit of their hopes and dreams a bit easier is a joy. My scholarship is an attempt to do just that,” he said.