Dawson College Foundation receives $1.8M endowment

The Dawson College Foundation was recently blown away when it received a nearly $1.8 million endowment, the largest donation ever received by the foundation to date, from a family dedicated to bolstering education in Eastern Montana. The money was left to the foundation by the late Ellis and Irene Jones, a local couple who lived and worked throughout Eastern Montana for decades.

Additionally, Dahl Memorial Healthcare in Ekalaka and a nursing home in Wibaux received $150,000 in donations.

The foundation received word of the donation in July, following Irene's passing, and officially received the funds this week.

Ellis and Irene Jones established the Ellis and Irene Jones Endowed Scholarship Fund to assist students from Eastern Montana in pursuing their dreams through educational opportunities offered by Dawson Community College.

According to DCF Chairman Mike Newton, funds will be used primarily for non-athletics scholarships and other programs meant to make education more accessible to area students.

He added that what those programs will look like still needs to be discussed with the Jones family, as the family and the foundation will be working together to ensure the donation will be used in accordance with Ellis and Irene's wishes.

"How can you say 'thank you' enough times? A donation like this means a lot to a small community college like this," Newton said. "It means a lot to the community, to the students, to the college. It will be long after I'm dead and gone and people will still be benefitting from this donation."

The shear size of the donation is the most noticeable aspect, as it is extremely rare for community colleges the size of Dawson Community College to receive such donations. Newton said he believes the foundation's total assets prior to receiving the donation were equal to the donation itself, so this week's donation likely doubled the size of the foundation.

Dennis Harp, executive director for the DCF, said the endowment will bring benefits for students for years to come.

"This gift is extraordinary, there's just no other word for it," he said.

Another thing that makes this an incredibly unique donation is that the Jones family has no direct connection to DCC. According to Ellis and Irene's son Owen Jones, no one in their family that he is aware of ever attended classes at the college or worked there. However, both Irene and Ellis were supporters of education, Irene having spent much of her life as a full-time and substitute teacher in Wibaux.

With DCC serving as the area's most prominent institution of higher learning, Owen said his family felt donating to the college was the most effective use of the funds. He added that donations of roughly $150,000 each were also made to Dahl Memorial Healthcare and a nursing home in Wibaux.

"They felt that this would benefit the most people for the longest period of time," Owen said. "This is a gift from my parents, they really loved Eastern Montana and they really enjoyed their time here."

Ellis and Irene both came from humble roots, having grown up as farm kids. Ellis grew up in Northern Illinois while Irene grew up in Eastern Montana, according to information provided by the DCF.

The two eventually met in Chicago, where they married and worked for some time before moving to Circle in 1953 where Ellis became the manager for the Mid-Rivers Telephone Cooperative, now Mid-Rivers Communications, during its initial stages of development. After some years of work, the couple's ingenuity and thrift meant they had saved enough money to become majority stockholders in two Eastern Montana banks: The First National Bank of Wibaux in 1956 and the First National Bank of Ekalaka in 1967. Together, they served as bank officers and directors for over 50 years.

The two also had numerous other accomplishments. While living in Wibaux, Ellis spearheaded an initiative to build the nursing home, with the facility opening in 1975.

Irene, following her tenure as a bank director, continued her life-long love of learning by returning to school and earning a degree in history. She went on to earn a master's degree in thanatology that enabled her to work with terminally ill and cancer patients for more than 20 years after receiving her own cancer diagnosis in 1980.

Knowing the role that education played in all their success was the driving force behind the Jones' decision to create the Ellis and Irene Jones Endowment Scholarship Fund.

"As reflected in their biographies, Ellis and Irene Jones grew their fortune through persistent hard work, sacrifice, ingenuity, and dedication. Their legacy will improve the lives of students, their families and their communities in eastern Montana for generations to come. The Jones' life histories serve as examples for students to work hard and give back to others less fortunate," the DCF said in a statement.

Full biographies for Ellis and Irene Jones can be found below.

Ellis Jones 

A Life Well Lived 

Ellis Jones was born June 2, 1918, to Charles and Florence Darmon Jones on their dairy farm in Boone County, Illinois. His farm upbringing taught him the importance of thinking innovatively, stretching oneself to try new things, and the value of plain hard work. These lessons, along with the values learned from his parents of integrity, fair-mindedness, and love of family were values that shaped his life and influenced him as a businessman and community member. 

Ellis graduated from high school and college in northern Illinois before joining the U.S. Navy in 1942 during World War 11. He was assigned to Naval Intelligence that included training in Chicago, New York City, and Washington, D.C. He served in French Morocco for two years and was honorably discharged in 1946. 

In 1948, he married Irene James in Chicago. Irene's father and Ellis’ father were boyhood classmates and friends from Wales that immigrated to the United States on the same ship in 1904. In 1953, Ellis and Irene moved to Circle, Montana where Ellis was the overall manager of Mid-Rivers Telephone Cooperative, now Mid-Rivers Communications, during its initial stages of development. 

Under his supervision, right of way easements were obtained and several hundred miles of telephone lines were constructed. It was during this time that the telephone company built a modern building in Circle. As the largest land mass telephone cooperative in the continental United States, Mid River serves over 30,000 square miles in eastern Montana and western North Dakota. 

Ellis’ hard work and thrifty living enabled him to resign his position at Mid-Rivers and buy majority stock in the First National Bank of Wibaux, Montana, in 1956. This was a big step for him, especially since he had never worked in a bank. But Ellis was never afraid to work hard or to try something new. His long hours of hard work and resourcefulness paid off again, and in 1967 he purchased majority stock in the First National Bank of Ekalaka, Montana.

He served on various state and national banking committees and was very active in community organizations. While living in Wibaux, Ellis spearheaded a drive to construct a nursing home; he donated the land for the nursing home and did the paperwork and met with government officials to get the federal Hill-Burton funds for construction. On August 24, 1975, a forty-bed facility was dedicated. He and Irene served as officers and bank directors in Montana for over fifty years. He sold the last of his bank stock in 2009 and his ranching interests in 2002. 

Ellis and Irene had four children:  Ellen, Owen, Gwen, and Darci, nine grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren whom they enjoyed through the years. His hobbies included collecting antique cars that he helped restore and preserve. Ellis always treasured the years he lived in Eastern Montana. He believed that the people of eastern Montana should have access to affordable nursing home care and educational opportunities. 

He demonstrated these beliefs by giving generous gifts to the Wibaux and Ekalaka nursing homes and establishing the prestigious Ellis and Irene Jones Endowed Fund at Dawson Community College in the Dawson College Foundation.

Ellis Jones passed away in 2012 at the age of 94.

Irene Jones 

The Grit and Tenacity of a Rancher's Daughter 

Irene Jones' life was marked by a love of learning, natural curiosity, and genuine kindness and compassion for others. Irene was born on May 9, 1928, on the family homestead in eastern Montana to David and Anna Pedersen James. Following graduation from Circle High School, she attended Northern Montana College where she earned an associate degree in education. Her parents valued her education and the education of her siblings and they struggled to provide educational opportunities to their children despite very difficult economic times. 

Irene's first teaching job was in a one-room school in McCone County with seven grades and nine students. There were no modern conveniences in the school, so she brought in coal for the pot-bellied stove, used kerosene lamps, and a small gas burner for cooking. Parents took turns bringing water for the water cooler. Her memories are of howling blizzards and runaway horses pulling a sled that was bringing children to school; but she remembers studious, respectful, and caring students. 

Irene married Ellis Jones on August 19, 1948 in Hilton Memorial Chapel on the University of Chicago campus. She taught school in Illinois until they moved to Montana in 1953. Because of their hard work and disciplined thrift, Ellis and Irene were able to take a big leap and become major stockholders of two banks in eastern Montana. 

In addition to being a devoted mother and wife, Irene served as a bank director for more than fifty years. Her intellectual curiosity and love of learning prompted her to return to school and earn a degree in history. This degree enabled her to do historical research and write publications in her field. Throughout her life she remained an avid reader with a broad range of interests. In 1976 Mrs. Jones wrote and compiled stories of pioneer families and events in early Wibaux in a volume titled “Trails Along Beaver Creek.” The book is in its third printing and is still in demand.

She became skilled at silver- smithing and the game of bridge, both of which she especially enjoyed. She traveled extensively with exciting trips to faraway places such as Mongolia, Siberia, the Amazon Jungle, and all the continents, except the Antarctic. 

In 1980, Irene was diagnosed with cancer. Because of that experience, she developed an interest in helping others who were facing similar challenges. She went back to school at Norwich University and earned a Master's degree that enabled her to work with terminally ill and cancer patients for more than twenty years. She gave lectures and conducted workshops nationwide and wrote a book in the field of thanatology (“I’m Dying and You Don’t Know What To Say”) that has been widely quoted and used.

Although she required additional treatment and surgery when her cancer metastasized in 1985, she continued her work with a positive spirit. Another cancer surgery in 1999 did not slow her pace nor dampen her optimistic outlook. Irene Jones had a genuine interest in everyone she met and made steadfast friends. 

She radiated a warm hospitality for all and never met a stranger. Irene's empathy, intellectual curiosity, and caring nature were her defining characteristics. These characteristics, along with a respect for the value of education instilled by her parents, prompted her generous gift to the Dawson College Foundation Scholarship Endowment Fund. It was her hope that many other children of farming and ranching families be able to enjoy the benefits and opportunity that an education provides.

She often said, "I may be a banker's wife, but I am still a rancher's daughter.”

Irene Jones passed away in 2022 at the age of 94.