One couple supports military students while celebrating their fathers’ service

June 12, 2026

By Caley Henderson, ’23

The donors behind a new scholarship wish they’d talked more with their fathers about their service when they had the chance. The gift from Bob Jossis, '70, and Cathy Jossis will support veterans and active-duty military students in Oregon State University’s School of Civil and Construction Engineering. They named the scholarship for their dads.

Arvid G. Jossis, a private first class in the U.S. Army, and James R. Canning, a lieutenant junior grade in the U.S. Navy, both served in World War II. Jossis was turned down for active duty because of his flat feet and, excepting a brief deployment to North Africa, spent most of the war assigned to the California Highway Patrol in Sacramento. Canning was initially rejected because of his essential work as a mining engineer but eventually got a yes from the Navy and shipped out to Saipan. For someone prone to seasickness, it was a rough fit. “He was really skinny when he came home,” his daughter said.

Military service instilled in both men a deep commitment to discipline and self-reliance – values they passed on to their children by example. Jossis ran a 30-acre dairy farm while holding a full-time job as a ditch rider for an irrigation company. When his wife took the children on the only vacation of their childhood – to see the Seattle World’s Fair – he stayed home to milk the cows twice a day.

Canning, who worked as an accountant for an international construction company after the war, also kept busy, building his family home himself and helping to raise eight children. In his spare time, he adored tramping around the Idaho backcountry, camping, hiking and hunting.

The two men’s life paths crossed when their children met in high school. After Bob and Cathy married, she joined him in Corvallis, where he was attending OSU. There, they formed lifelong friendships, and Bob immersed himself in engineering classes.

He also drew a high number in the initial Vietnam draft lottery, which felt like a lucky break at the time. But over the years, his feelings shifted. “The joy turned to regret. Other people either chose to serve or had to serve, and I didn't,” he said. “I didn't feel good about that.”

Bob has always identified as pro-military, but over the years his appreciation for how people face the horrors and challenges of war has deepened. That ever-growing admiration for people’s service – paired with a strong appreciation for the value of an OSU engineering education – inspired the couple’s decision to give. From there, naming the scholarship to celebrate their fathers felt like a natural step.

It’s too late to ask their fathers about their wartime experiences, but one of their friends served in Vietnam. Recently, the couple talked with him about his service and expressed appreciation. They could tell it moved him.

For them, the scholarship is an extension of that impulse to reach out to their friend. Beyond honoring their fathers, they hope their gift offers some small support and thanks to students who have served.