Katherine “Kay” White, an islander, longtime member of the Vashon Island Chorale and supporter of the arts, died Monday morning at the age of 96.

White is the woman behind Vashon Center for the Arts’ new, $20 million Katherine L White Hall, which opened in April of 2016 and drew both praise and criticism throughout its construction. She funded roughly half of the project after deciding in 2011 that she would donate $3.5 million in cash along with a $7 million charitable trust to the arts organization.

Molly Reed, the outgoing director of Vashon Center for the Arts (VCA), has said numerous times that she was shocked by the proposition after receiving a call from White’s attorney. Reached Monday, she continued to be in awe of White’s contribution and spoke of how she became close friends with White.

“She was a very special woman who gave our community an extraordinary gift,” she said. “Kay was one of the kindest, most humble, generous people I’ve ever known. She loved to laugh and she always had a twinkle in her eye.”

White moved to Vashon in the 1980s with her late husband, William White, and enjoyed a relatively private life on Vashon with chorale and gardening occupying most of her time until 2011, when her donation to VCA turned the spotlight on her. In a 2011 Beachcomber article, she said that she decided to give the money to VCA because she was getting older and didn’t know what else she would do with it. She, like many others on Vashon, always dreamed of a larger place to showcase chorale, dance and music programs. The Chorale would hold concerts at local churches, while dance and music events would take place in the high school’s theater or the small Blue Heron building. It was this need that she said inspired the gift. She also was very much involved with the process and met with architects and other planners, providing funding along the way.