A Lasting Gift

Even though they were transplants to the area, Tom and Nancy Davidson supported Weber State University as if they were lifelong fans.

The couple married in 1951 and moved to the Ogden area in the 1970s.

Tom spent a decade in the Air Force and progressed through several marketing and engineering positions in the private sector before retiring and becoming involved in the community alongside Nancy.

Richard Davidson, one of the couple’s grandsons, said they were both drawn to the university as a pillar of the community, with Tom eventually serving on the Utah State Board of Education, the WSU Board of Trustees and WSU Athletic Board. Both received honorary Doctorate of Humanities degrees at WSU, Tom in 1998 and Nancy in 2010.

“My grandpa loved education, but my grandmother loved the people,” he said.

Tom passed away in 2013, and Nancy in 2015. However, their support for Weber State continues, since they are among the many donors who have committed to the longterm success of Weber State by establishing an endowed scholarship.

WSU supporters and donors Barbara and Norman Tanner, Leon and Frances Staciokas and Dean and Jane Morrin are also among those who have set up these scholarship endowments. The endowments consist of invested, donated funds, with some of the interest earnings accrued on those investments used to fund scholarships.

The Davidsons donated about $1.4 million to WSU over the course of 27 years. Earnings on these donations have gone toward Weber State Athletics, the College of Engineering, Applied Science & Technology, the College of Science, the Telitha E. Lindquist College of Arts & Humanities, and the Jerry & Vickie Moyes College of Education.

Greg Larsen BS ’03, another one of the couple’s grandsons who is a Weber State alum and cousin to Richard, said WSU was always a part of his life thanks to his grandparents. He said Tom and Nancy would go out of their way to get to know student athletes, who were usually transplants to the area, like themselves.

“You throw yourself at it,” Larsen said. “If you say you’re a part of something, you’re a part of it. Those are the lessons I learned from them.”

Larsen said he and his family learned a lot about the importance of being involved and helping others from his grandparents.

“When he was a fan, he was a fan,” he said of his grandfather. “When he was engaged, he was engaged. He was all in.”

Richard said his grandparents always made it a point to attend plays and athletic events at Weber State and were passionate about supporting those students.

“They were very thoughtful in their giving,” he said. “The things they supported had to have value and purpose.”

To learn more about how you can help WSU students achieve their goals through an endowed or other gift, visit give.weber.edu.