District awards posthumous diploma to veteran’s family
Ralph Kuhnley Jr. (second from left) and his wife, Sharlene, with Cambria Heights School District directors Kenneth Vescovi, Stacy McDonald and Dr. Russell Miller.
At its annual academic awards banquet on May 12, the Cambria Heights School District presented Ralph Kuhnley Jr. a posthumous diploma for his father, Ralph E. “Hap” Kuhnley Sr. The elder Kunhley attended Patton High School, which merged with other neighboring schools in 1960 to create the Cambria Heights School District, but left to enlist in the United States Navy prior to the start of his senior year. In 2014, he started a scholarship fund to recognize two graduating seniors each year; however, he passed away six months after giving the first awards. Since that time, Kuhnley Jr. and his family have continued presenting the awards as the Hap Kuhnley Memorial Scholarship and have given $18,000 to date. The diploma presentation was a surprise to Kuhnley Jr., who received a standing ovation at the awards banquet.
