New name among big changes coming to Tacoma’s Pearl Street YMCA
The Morgan Family YMCA — both its facility and name — soon will be no more.
Construction is scheduled to begin next year on the new Scott and Sis Names Family YMCA, which will include a modern aquatics center, new equipment, arts and youth spaces, gymnastics gym, views of Mount Rainier, additional parking and various multipurpose rooms.
YMCA announced in October it will name the new facility, which is being built next door to the current Morgan Family YMCA, to recognize the legacy of longtime Pierce County residents Scott and Evelyn “Sis” Names after a $5 million donation from the Names Family Foundation.
“We were all very grateful, surprised and excited at the same time,” said Paula Larkin, the daughter of Scott and Sis Names. “I wish they were here to be able to see what they’ve created.”
Scott grew up in the North End of Tacoma and Sis grew up in Fircrest. Both attended Stadium High School. In 1957, they opened an athletics store that operated for 42 years.
In 1996, the couple established the Names Family Foundation to “promote health and wellness in Pierce County through supporting physical education and athletics.”
Scott Names passed away in 2004 at the age of 91. Sis Names passed away in 2014 at the age of 97. They were married for 71 years and had three children, 10 grandchildren and numerous great-great grandchildren.
“I think the beauty of both my mom and dad is they both started out with nothing,” said Larkin, 74. “To see where they started out and where they are now — they’d be very overwhelmed.”
Erin Shagren, executive director of the Names Family Foundation and granddaughter of Scott and Sis Names, also is a member of the philanthropy advisory council for the YMCA. She said her family had planned the donation for the new facility for a while, but were surprised with the name change.
“They really didn’t like the spotlight, but they’d be honored,” Shagren, 59, said of her grandparents.
The current Morgan Family YMCA was renamed for former YMCA President and CEO John O. Morgan in 1996. He passed away in 2014.
“We’re excited to have the support of the Names Family in bringing a new YMCA to the Tacoma community,” said Charlie Davis, President and CEO of the YMCA of Pierce and Kitsap Counties, in a press release. “We share a belief that everyone deserves to live a healthy life and have the opportunity to find belonging and connection through community.”
