On Oct. 19, Deneece Huftalin, president of Salt Lake Community College, sent out an email to all staff and faculty:
“It is with profound sadness that I inform you that Thy Vu Mims, marketing manager in the Institutional Marketing and Communications department, passed away on Saturday [Oct. 16] in a tragic accident,” the email read.
Mims was killed by a suspected drunk driver during a police chase near 500 North and 1200 West in Salt Lake City.
Mims was a big part of the Salt Lake community outside of the college as well. She and her husband, Tripp, started a bakery at the beginning of the pandemic. Selling artisan breads, the couple wanted to provide warmth and joy for people by bringing fresh baked bread into their homes.
“Thy was bright, adventurous and entrepreneurial,” Huftalin said in the email. “She was passionate about education, her family, and giving back to her community.”
Mims left behind her husband, two children, a bakery, and an entire community — a community that wants to give back as she did.
An Instagram account was created as a silent auction page to raise money for the Mims family as well as Deanna Martin, who was a passenger in the car during the accident.
“Thy was the type of person that exudes the word inclusivity, there was no one she wasn’t friends with,” said Sarah Reale, director of digital marketing and political science adjunct at SLCC. “She was so sincere and empathetic. She was genuine in everything she did.”
The description of the page dedicated to Mims says: “In loving memory of a great friend to so many in the SLC community.”
In a Salt Lake Tribune article, Mims’ husband expressed his hopes that those who choose to remember Mims will do so in daily acts of positivity, just like he is trying to do.
Reale shares this feeling: “Knowing Thy, she would want you to focus on giving back.”
A friend of the family created a GoFundMe page to take care of any expenses Mims’ husband and two boys have. Over 130,000 dollars has been raised at time of publication.
