Woman's estate donates $125,000 to Columbia Falls child assistance program

Donna Lee Mast’s spirit was just like her hair, fiery red.

Mast was born and raised on the family farm in Lincoln, Nebraska. She received her education in Ashland, eventually earning her teaching degree at the University of Nebraska.

In 1984, Donna married Ken Mast. They lived in Nebraska until she retired, moving to Whitefish in 1994.

Mast met Patti Reed shortly after she and her husband moved to Whitefish. At the time, Reed was the business manager at Family Physicians Clinic, Glacier Medical Associates now. The two became close friends, and Mast left Reed as the representative of her will. 

Mast developed dementia in her elder years. “The final four years of her life, I basically was Donna, playing her roles,” Reed said in a recent interview.    

A die-hard Nebraskan, she taught fourth grade for 40 years in Nebraska. 

“In the process of going through her [Nebraska] barn, I found a lot of drawings she kept that the kids in her classroom made,” Reed said. “Donna could not have children, so I believe that’s part of the reason she felt so passionately about teaching.”

Donna had no family. Her only request was that 25% of her estate residue go to St. Peter Lutheran Church in Whitefish, and Trinity Lutheran Church in Murdock, Nebraska. 

Mast taught Sunday school at St. Peter Lutheran for many years, serving on the council and as the president of the congregation’s Lutheran Women’s Missionary League chapter. She enjoyed singing in the church choir, as well as with the Calamity Jane Singers.

“The rest, she said, ‘do as you see fit’,” said Reed.

“I think Donna had more than she thought,” Reed said jokingly. Reed sold three homes in Nebraska and ‘three or four’ cars. She also sold a home up Reservoir Road in Whitefish to a young couple. 

   Reed has made a $125,000 lump sum donation in Mast’s name to the Columbia Falls Child Assistance Team (CFCAT) program. CFCAT serves homeless and needy youth in School District 6 communities. They raise awareness, create a welcoming environment, fill basic needs, and raise funds for all children in need. The program aims to cultivate a community in which “no school-age child is deprived of the educational opportunities that SD6 offers due to economic disadvantage, dislocation or family disruption.”

According to the organization: “At any given time, approximately 5-10% of SD6 students have been identified as homeless.” 

It was an easy decision for Reed. “I had talked to Tamara Sundberg about the kids that needed help, and I knew that’s where the money needed to be.”

Sundberg runs the school CFCAT program. 

Reed’s father, Jake Jacobi, was the former School District 6 business manager, so she has deep ties to Columbia Falls.

Reed says she’s still in the process of donating to local causes. 

“There’s approximately $800,000 left,” she said.

She’s already left generous donations to the Montana Veterans Home, as well as the Northwest Humane Society. “Donna loved three things: animals, children, and veterans.” 

Her husband Ken was a former veteran.  

“It’s what Donna wanted, I’m simply the messenger,” said Reed.

Donna loved traveling. She had earned her private pilot’s license, so she and Ken frequently traveled to Alaska. 

They often rode their Harleys around Montana. 

Donna made cookies and pies for a wide range of holidays and occasions, treating church members, doctors, her pets’ veterinarians, and a host of friends to her goodies. 

Mast also volunteered at the Sparrow’s Nest in Kalispell, an organization that aims to provide stable housing for homeless high school students in Northwest Montana, in turn building brighter futures. 

Even years after her teaching career, she continued to impact lives. Reed recounts a time that she received a letter from one of Mast’s former students: “it was apparent that she had helped her through some really tough times. I called her, and informed her Donna had passed.”

On Sunday morning, Feb. 4, 2024, Mast passed peacefully in her room at The Springs in Whitefish. “Loving, giving, kind are the words I would use to describe Donna to someone who didn’t know her,” Reed said.

While Mast did not leave any last words, Reed believes she would tell the world to “help the children, they’re our future.”