Described by a friend as a lifelong learner, Mason Nolan helped hundreds of young people achieve their own educational goals.
Nolan was part of Vancouver’s I Have A Dream program, funded scholarships for other local students and also contributed to a range of other community efforts.
The former Columbian executive died Sunday; he was 95.
Nolan had three major themes with his giving: education, health and human services for the most vulnerable, and the environment, said Jennifer Rhoads, president of Community Foundation of Southwest Washington.
Nolan was with The Columbian from 1965 to 2004.
“He was our chief financial officer,” said Scott Campbell, The Columbian’s publisher. Nolan also was something of a renaissance man, Campbell added, with interests that included art and photography.
“He enjoyed people, and he cared about the community,” Campbell said.
Nolan was an early donor in an ambitious educational support program that has spanned 20 years, the I Have a Dream program started by the late Mary Granger. It has helped more than 300 children from elementary schools in low-income neighborhoods work toward college degrees or career training.
Deanna Green, a longtime project coordinator, said that Nolan’s support went beyond financial contributions.
“He was probably our first Dreamer mentor,” Green said. “He connected with a Dreamer via art. He took an interest in him and his family.”
The student wound up graduating from the Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland.
Green offered summer programs to keep the kids engaged in learning during vacation, and Nolan was a regular participant.
“He was learning, too. Whether it was yoga or guitar, he was right there,” Green said. “In a poetry session, he wrote something.”
Nolan extended that support through other paths that help local high school grads work toward degrees, Rhoads said.
“He was an early funder of the Penguin Promise,” a program to assist students at Clark College, she said.
And if those Clark grads “want to go to Washington State University Vancouver, he set up a scholarship fund for them,” Rhoads said.
“In other areas, as far as helping those in need, he was a big supporter of Meals on Wheels,” Rhoads said. “He recently has been supporting housing through Evergreen Habitat for Humanity.
“Mason was a tough guy at times. He didn’t always believe in a handout,” Rhoads said. “All the families that purchased a home had to have sweat equity. Him being the financial guy, he loved that model.”
The majority of his estate will be used to establish a fund at the Community Foundation and will be paid out in grants over the next 20 years, Rhoads said.
