Marillyn and Tom Thomas (photo by Jeannine Lintner). From hairspray to hardhats, MSU lays a solid foundation by Brenda McDonald MSU Communications Services From television personality to general contractor, Montana State College's School of Home Economics provided the foundation for Marillyn (Pearson) Thomas, '53, of Great Falls. "I had no qualms about what I could handle when I left MSC and the confines of Herrick Hall," Thomas recalls. "They sent us off into the future well equipped." In 1995 she served as general contractor for the Southridge Condominiums in Great Falls, built on property she and her husband own there. "Tom did all the engineering work. My father was a building contractor, so I'd always had an interest in the field, and I'd had a course in house planning at MSU." She thinks sending students off well-equipped is the right thing to do for the current students receiving their education in Herrick Hall, which is why she is serving on MSU's Herrick Hall Renaissance Committee. "Students need state-of-the-art equipment, that's what we had." The focus of the campaign is a $10 million effort to enhance the instructional and research capabilities of the 76-year-old building. "I spent so many hours there. It was like a second home with its food and clothing labs." Marillyn did radio and television work for KFBB in Great Falls in the '50s. She hosted her own television show, "Open House," five-days-a-week and helped create two children's television shows, "Betsy Bookworm" and "The Leaping Leprechaun." "I was asked to do 'Open House' in 1955. I'd never done television before. The daily, half-hour show dealt with how to run a house. I did it for a year and loved it. I became a bit of a celebrity, so I couldn't dash to the grocery store in my grubbys." Marillyn and her husband Tom, '53 CivEng, were on campus recently for their 50th reunion. Marillyn grew up in Great Falls and followed in her sister's footsteps to MSC. "My father didn't want us to go to college. But my mother was very firm that we would go. She knew education was a springboard to better things." "Marj Paisley and Gladys Roehm were my favorite teachers. They taught home ec and knew their subjects well, but they had humor as well. They had the ability to make a connection with the students. Your learning was important to them." One MSC experience still vivid after 50 years was her stint in the home economics Home Management House on the corner of Grand and Cleveland. Home economics majors were required to move into the house for six weeks. There, professor Evelyn McCormick supervised them as they participated in all aspects of running a house from meal preparation to cleaning. The experience even included a borrowed baby that the women took care of during the week from Monday morning to Friday night. "It was hard work. McCormick was a general." Marillyn said that the people of MSU are solid and genuine. "We've appreciated the lifelong MSC friendships that have enriched our lives." When Marillyn left MSC she taught in the Great Falls public schools for several years. "I loved teaching. When I got the position I felt capable because of what I learned at MSC." Marillyn and Tom met at MSC. "We would watch the pretty girls through our surveying equipment," laughs Tom. "That's when I first saw her." Tom came to MSC from Livingston. He graduated with a degree in civil engineering, and in 1955 he was one of the founders and served as president of the Great Falls engineering firm of Thomas, Dean & Hoskins Inc. When he retired in 1995 the firm had 70 employees in four branch offices. Over the years he has maintained strong ties to MSU through recruiting its graduates to his engineering firm. Marillyn and Tom were achievers in their undergraduate days at MSC and have remained so ever since. "I've always had an interest in things, causes and people," Marillyn said. "You have to give back to the community. We are both very caring and we wanted to make things better for people." Marillyn is most proud of the work she's done over the years with the Great Falls Symphony, the Junior League and in the area of mental health. She was given the MSU Alumni Achievement Award in 2001. She also received a Distinguished Alumna Award from the College of Education, Health and Human Development on May 10. Tom was the keynote speaker at the College of Engineering traditional ring ceremony. They have two children, Marlie Rowell and Richard and grandchildren Patrick and Kari Rowell. Marillyn and Tom Thomas (photo by Jeannine Lintner).