The spouse of a former Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) physical plant employee, whose average annual salary was $30,000, has given the college the second largest endowed gift in in its history.

Ray Gumtau started as a foreman in DMACC’s mechanical/electrical department in 1981 and was later named the department supervisor. Elaine Ilvess, sister of Gumatau’s late wife, has presented a $320,000 check to the DMACC Foundation for an endowed scholarship in the name of Ray and Shirley Gumtau, the college said in a news release.

Shirley and Ray were married at a young age.  Ray worked while Shirley attended a business college in Des Moines; then Shirley worked while Ray attended a technical school in Omaha. Shirley was an assistant in the Iowa State University horticulture department when she retired.

The endowment will support the following scholarships at DMACC’s Ankeny campus for students with a minimum 2.0 grade point average:

• Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Technology Scholarship;
• Administrative Assistant Scholarship;
• Computer Aided Design Technology Scholarship; and
• Any program with preference given to a student with a physical or mental disability.