A new SUNY Jamestown Community College scholarship honoring a noted Chautauqua County entrepreneur will be awarded to a rising second-year Business Administration student starting in 2026.
The Caryl VanderMolen Scholarship was recently established with the JCC Foundation by Caryl’s daughter, Nancy VanderMolen, as a way to remember the woman who founded Lakewood Furniture Galleries in the late 1950s and moved it to its current East Fairmount Avenue location in the 1960s.
VanderMolen also owned two gift shops at the Chautauqua Institute during the 1970s.
VanderMolen provided interior design expertise throughout her adult life, owning, renovating and restoring more than 50 houses in Chautauqua County, several of which had historical significance. VanderMolen was the first female member of the Lakewood Village Board of Trustees and the Chautauqua Lake Yacht Club.
Being recognized for her entrepreneurial spirit, she was named as a Woman of Achievement of Chautauqua County.
VanderMolen died in 2018 at the age of 91.
The scholarship will be given annually at JCC’s spring awards ceremony beginning in 2026.
The JCC Foundation is an independent, not-for-profit organization which develops, maintains, and manages an endowment to support projects and activities that strengthen the college’s mission.