Remembering Nicole
Sister, aunt honor fallen FHS grad, family with two scholarship awards
Former Farragut High School student Nicole Kalister, right, was killed in a 2015 plane crash, along with her parents, Betty Kalister, left, and her father, Dr. Rick Kalister. Sister, Jacquelyn Kalister, also pictured, and her aunt, Jennifer Hall, have established scholarships in Nicole’s honor, the most recent of which currently is taking applications.
Nicole had only recently graduated when she and her parents, Dr. Joseph “Rick” and Betty Kalister, were killed in a plane crash.
The three died in Massachusetts, where they had planned to tour a prospective college for Nicole, according to news reports.
But through that unimaginable tragedy, Jacquelyn Kalister, the family’s lone survivor and Nicole’s sister, along with the girls’ aunt, Jennifer Hall, have honored Nicole through two scholarship awards.
The recipients were two FHS graduates who planned to major in film, which was a passion of Nicole’s, recalled Thomas Deakins, FHS Education Foundation president.
Recently, the family decided to award an additional one-time $5,000 scholarship in Nicole’s honor, with this one targeting an FHS senior or current college student who plans a career in the amusement park industry — one that remains dear to the heart of Nicole’s family.
“While previous scholarships awarded by the family honored Nicole’s future, this one intends to honor the legacy of vibrancy the Kalisters embraced” as the family “shared many memories and vacations to various amusement parks,” according to the scholarship application.
The application is available on the FHS website, and its Education Foundation will administer the scholarship.
Deadline for consideration is Oct. 1.
For further information, e-mail fhsedfnd@gmail.com.
