Russ and Carol Blaser Memorial Scholarship

Russ and Carol Blaser

Michael and Rich Blaser created this scholarship in honor of their parents, Carol and Russell “Russ” W. Blaser in 2003. Russ, a pharmacy manager at Ayers Medical Center in downtown Gainesville and a past president of the Alachua County Pharmaceutical Association, was born in New Jersey in 1944. He attended the University of Florida, where he received a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy in 1976. A veteran of the Vietnam War, Russ also served as the Commander of the Composite Squadron of the United States Air Force Civil Air Patrol.

Carol was also an undergraduate alumna of UF, and, like her husband, she was born in New Jersey. Carol earned her degree in political science in 1989 and worked for Gainesville Regional Utilities and later the City of Gainesville as purchasing manager of the Finance Department.

The couple died together in a tragic plane crash in February 200