John and Lillian Gabrielli Endowed Scholarship

This scholarship is in memory of John and Lillian Gabrielli. Lillian, a Trieste native, met her husband, John, during World War II in Rome when he was part of the American force which liberated the city. After John returned to Reno, they kept up a relationship through mail. When a few of Lillian’s letter were delayed by the post office, John, concerned that she was losing interest in him, sent her a letter proposing marriage. Lillian accepted, emigrated to the U.S. in 1947 and married John three days later at St. Thomas Cathedral in Reno. After John, a Nevada alumnus, finished law school in San Francisco, the couple settled in Reno where he eventually became a Washoe County District Judge. Lillian was active in the Italian community serving as an interpreter for newly arrived Italian families through the Nevada Italian Consul, helping interpret and prepare legal documents for some three decades. They raised a family of five children who remained their pride and joy and took great delight in becoming grandparents. Theirs was a life of love and devotion to each other and to their family. And all because of the U.S. mail. John died in 1988; Lillian died in 2001. Recipients shall be full-time students with demonstrated financial need and a minimum 3.0 GPA.