Dayton couple's generosity leaves $2.4 million to college

The Daily Inter Lake

The late Thain and Fay White, former residents of Dayton, left a legacy gift valued at $2.4 million to Flathead Valley Community College’s foundation to establish a permanent endowment to support the college. 

FVCC President Jane Karas said the college was incredibly grateful for the planned gift.

“It will have a lasting impact on the foundation’s ability to assist the college as we continue to meet the needs of local students and the community,” Karas said.

Foundation and college officials will work together to decide how to use this money for maximum impact on student success and campus needs. 

Foundation chairwoman Leslie Mercord added her appreciation for the White’s generosity to the college.

“This gift will provide support for many years to come,” Mercord said.

The Whites were longtime Flathead Valley residents. Thain died in 1999 and Fay died in October 2012.

Raised near Rollins, Thain helped his father run the family’s Columbia Sheep Co. He created the Flathead Lake Lookout Museum near Lakeside in 1949.

A self-taught historian, archaeologist and naturalist, he researched and published many research papers now archived at Gonzaga University and The University of Montana.

 Fay, a descendant of early Scottish and English pioneers in Canada, was originally from Mankota, Saskatchewan.  After graduating from the University of Manitoba in 1953, she sought employment in the Flathead Valley, where she met and married Thain.

She was an avid reader and had many interests such as world events, politics, history and economics. In her later years, she enrolled in classes at the community college and traveled.

Those who knew Fay described her as a private person, independent and self-sufficient but also very caring and generous in nature.

For more information on the college foundation or on planned giving, contact Colleen Unterreiner at 756-3914 or colleenu@fvcc.edu.