The Thiessens

Wayne and Peggy Thiessen met and fell in love back in their Idaho 4-H and University of Idaho days and have committed more than $1 million in donations to the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS).

Commitments include gifts to the Idaho 4-H Endowment in honor of Peggy’s mother Doris Roper and Wayne’s father John Thiessen. They have also contributed to upgrading the Margaret Ritchie School of Family and Consumer Sciences’ Niccolls building, and their scholarship for soil science studies has been benefiting students for some years. They also support the CALS Steer-A-Year program.

Both alums see their University of Idaho support as “paying forward” benefits they’ve enjoyed. 

“I think paying it forward is an important part of being a good citizen,” Peggy said. “I was fortunate to go to college, the first in my family. I attribute that to my 4-H activity and mentors who guided me.”

Wayne agrees. 

“Others helped pay for our educations. As state and federal funding to the UI decline, it is incumbent on alums as beneficiaries of the university to step up and fill that gap.”