Promenade Spring 2009

PROMENADETHE GEORGE PEPPERDINE COLLEGE NEWSLETTER

SC0901083-Promenade newsletter_v2.indd 1 5/26/09 9:10 AM

Dear Fellow Waves,The Promenade newsletter is the voice of the alumni of George Pepperdine College. It is a place where memories live vividly through fervent storytelling by each of you. We invite you now to relax and drink in the words of your fellow Waves in the

pages that follow, and as their recollections reignite stories of your own, I hope you will participate by reaching out to share them with us.

I am looking forward to hearing from you!

God bless,Matt Ebeling (SC, ‘99)Executive Director, Alumni AffairsSeaver College & George Pepperdine College(310) 506-4348 | [email protected]

3 Sound Marriage Is His Message with eHarmony.com

Dr. Neil Clark Warren (’56) on life, love, and his mission to foster healthy marriages.

4 Who’s Your Favorite Professor? Alumni recall fond memories of GPC

Professor, Dr. Richard A. Hogan (’42).

5 Gammas Thrive in the 21st CenturyAlumnae of the Sigma Pi Gamma sorority stick

together over the years by embracing technology.

6 GPC Photo AlbumA glimpse of GPC student life through the

eyes of Jon Washington (’63).

8 Who’s Your Favorite Professor? Alumni recall fond memories of GPC Professor,

Dr. Harry Robert Fox.

9 Football Was a Winner From the StartA look back into the history of the Pepperdine

Football program.

10 GPC Student Body Presidents – Where Are They Now?

Alumnus John Rettberg (’59), his path to the presidency, and life after graduation.

11 GPC Grad Named Board Chair of Another Christian College

Christian education remains a priority for Jim Randolph (’66).

12 M.I.T.A.Y. and the Power of Storytelling

A special GPC alumni tradition continues in Long Beach, California.

15 GPC Returns to Life for Seaver Students

The Waves of Malibu visit the heart of Pepperdine at 79th and Vermont and are transported back in time through heartfelt storytelling.

15 In MemoriumRemembering the lives of fellow alumni

recently passed.

16 Class NotesBrief updates in the lives of our fellow Waves.

Promenade StaffEditor • Matt EbelingGraphic Designer • Gabriela MorenoProduction Manager • Jill McWilliamsCopy Editor • Vincent WayContributing Writers • Bob Andrew (’52), Norma Wade Young-Mahaffey (’61), Jon Washington (’63), Robyn Winn Hall (’61), Harry Nelson (’50), Ferne Hogan (’42), Chuck Cole (’62), Darlene Adam Gruwell (’62), Avesta Carrara, and Matt Ebeling (’99)

In This Issue

GPC Athletes Continue to Be Chosen for Pepperdine Athletics Hall of FameFormer Wave standouts John Furlong (’51) and Dr. James Brinton (’57) join an exclusive group.14

What Ever Happened To…Dr. Lucille Todd, Pepperdine’s first Dean of Women?

7

A R T I C L E S 2


mailto:[email protected]

A R T I C L E S 3

Soundis His Message with eHarmony.com

By Bob Andrew (‘58)

A healthy marriage has a certain rhythm in the relationship between man and wife that echoes in musical theme language used by Dr. Neil Clark Warren, the founder of eHar-mony.com and a 1956 graduate of George Pepperdine College. That musical note also sounds in the title of one of his 10 best-sell-ing books, Catching the Rhythm of Love.

Dr. Warren had already spent 35 years as a psychologist and marriage counselor before he and one of his sons-in-law, Greg Forgatch, launched in 2000 the Internet site where, on average, 236 people who were matched on the site get married each day.

However, it was not the sound of music but the desire to assure that his three daughters were harmonically matched when they selected their husbands that first stimulated Neil to undertake his extensive study of couple compatibility. Oddly enough, however, he claims that it was not his own family background that directed his vision.

Solid, unshakeable marriages run in his family, beginning with his parents who were married for 70 years. However, by the standards he applies in the 29 key criteria of compatibility that make up a solid and lasting marriage, he admits he would not have predicted such a long-lasting relationship for them. Over the years, his father owned an auto dealership, a John Deere store, and a grocery store. Then Papa ran for the board of supervisors for his county and Mama voted against him be-cause she thought politics was a dirty business.

“My dad was just so stinking bright and my mom was so sweet, but she was two standard deviations below him in intelligence,” Neil said in an Internet interview by Rebecca Traister. While his father liked to discuss the Middle East conflicts between Arabs and Jews, his mother “didn’t know where the Middle East was,” which resulted in his spending a bored childhood “sitting there with two people who never talked.”

Neil was only 20 years behind his parents when he celebrat-ed 50 years of marriage in March to his bride who graduated from Pepperdine in 1958 as Marylyn Mann, a princess in that school year’s Homecoming Court. They didn’t begin to

date until after they had both graduated, he said. When they started dating, Neil earned a modest level of envy from every fraternity member on campus.

Marylyn didn’t work until the Warrens’ third daughter went off to college, but then she made up for it by serving for 11 years as vice president and head of devel-opment for the Huntington Library and by handling eHarmo-ny’s public relations after that project had been launched. She is still active, including being a member of the Pepperdine University Board of Regents for more than a year.

About the time they married, Neil received his master’s de-gree in divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary (1959) and went on to earn a PhD in psychology from the Univer-sity of Chicago. He then became a professor, and later the dean, at Fuller Theological Seminary’s Graduate School of Psychology.

He also maintained a private practice as a psychologist and marriage counselor. That was where he learned that half the marriages in the U.S. end in divorce and half of those that don’t divorce are still unhappy. He came to realize that similar values and interests are the anchors that hold the solid marriages in place, but it took years of research to con-firm that conclusion.

Neil conducted 500 “divorce autopsies” involving interviews with both former spouses, their children, and parents. He discovered that, because of wide separations in interests and beliefs, more than 70 percent of those marriages had been in trouble before the final “I do” was spoken.

Starting from that point, Neil and his business partner son-in-law, Greg Forgatch, began in 1995 to analyze 5,000 married people, eventually narrowing their focus down to 200 people in each of four categories: 1) very happily married, 2) pretty hap-pily married, 3) unhappy but not ready to quit, and 4) very dis-couraged couples. Then they concentrated on groups 1 and 4 and discovered that those couples gave widely divergent answers in 29 categories of compatibility questions. Neil sur-mised that marriages would greatly increase the survival rate


if they were formed from couples with similar responses in categories that include curiosity, intellect, appearance, spiri-tuality, and values.

“I’ve often said that my dream is to get the divorce rate down to single digits,” Neil told Readers Digest for an interview entitled “Dreamers: The Love Doctor.”

Warren declares that compatibility in deeply held conviction areas–such as spiritual orientation and politics–is especially critical in a securely founded marriage.

“Similarities are like money in the bank. Differences are like debts you owe. It’s all right to have a few debts as long as you have plenty of equity in your account. Otherwise, your mar-riage may be bankrupt at an early point,” he told National Review for an online interview.

In that same article, Neil rejected the old adage that opposites attract. “I often say that opposites do attract, and then they attack,” he said.

“In one of my books, Finding the Love of Your Life, I list 50 areas in which it is good to be similar to your mate. You don’t have to have all 50 of these similarities, but it certainly is good to have in the upper 30s or lower 40s. You want to have way more similarities than differences. Otherwise, you will be maritally bankrupt at a frighteningly early point in your mar-riage.”

In the first five years on the Internet, eHarmony registered more than 6.5 million men and women who were searching

online for the ideal marriage partner and continues to register approximately 15,000 more each day.

One of the more controversial aspects of eHarmony’s rules for finding a mate is that an exchange of photographs is dis-couraged at first. Warren said this standard was established to help prevent a strong early attachment to one person based on physical attraction rather than harmonic quality standards.

“The fact is that the most important qualities that contribute to long term marital satisfaction are qualities from the inside of a person–their values, their ‘heart,’ their character, their personality. When you get to know these inside qualities, you will tend to be more forgiving of external features. Sometimes people veto another person on the basis of external factors, but if they had actually gotten to know them from the inside out, they would have discovered what a perfect mate this person might have been for them.”

Greg, Neil’s business partner, is also the husband of his oldest daughter, Lorrie. The Forgatch family has four sons: Matt, Joe, Warren, and William. The middle Warren daughter, Luann, and her husband, Rolf Sohlberg, have three daughters: Mary-lyn, Sarah and Amy. The youngest Warren daughter, Lind-say, and her husband, Jon Vinnik, have a son, Andrew, and a daughter, Mara.

All present indications are that Neil and Marylyn have helped orchestrate the compatibility factors in their family’s marriag-es to near symphonic proportions. †

A R T I C L E S 4

My favorite Pepperdine faculty member was Dr. Richard A. Hogan (’42).

Dick started at Pepperdine in 1938 and graduated in 1942. During that time he did a lot of things–like being editor of the Promenade yearbook.

When he and his close buddy, Kenneth Hahn (’42), graduated, they immediately left for Notre Dame to become ensigns in the U.S. Navy. The very day they graduated, both of them flew over to Iowa and Dick and I were married (with Kenny as best man). There are funny stories from that, but perhaps for another day.

When his war service was over, Dick came home and we went to the University of Chicago so that he could become Dr. Hogan. He then came back to Pepperdine as professor of psychology and as dean of students. Naturally, he became my favorite pro-fessor. He left for private practice in 1956, but he was always interested in following Pepperdine events.

He was my favorite for 66 years. He passed away in September 2008, but he will always be my favorite. †

was a

GoodBy Ferne Hogan (’42)CatCh

her Favorite ProF


ThriveGammas By Robyn Winn Hall (‘61)in the 21st Century

Academics–the sole purpose and value of a college education, right? Of course not! Equally important are the myriad of di-verse experiences college life has to offer. We all love to discuss the games won or lost, who we dated, how we met our spous-es, how we sat up all night getting the articles written for the Graphic or the pages for the yearbook, how we rehearsed all night for the play or musical, and the great fun we had at soror-ity and fraternity functions. These memories strongly bind us together, and as the years pass, staying connected grows increas-ingly more important as we yearn to reunite and to hear from our dear college friends.

Sigma Pi Gamma members, over the years, have stayed in touch either through planned reunions or informal gatherings. Some have continued to count as close friends those who suffered through initiations with them. When the Grand Pepperdine Celebration of 2001 was held in Palm Springs, California, plans included time and space for sororities and fraternities to meet. More than 30 attended that Gamma reunion.

Before the next GPC reunion, Sue Potts Hamilton had designed and implemented the Gamma Web site– www.sigmapigamma.org. It includes sections for the history of Gammas, events, photos (both past and current), resources, and a special memorial section called “Footprints.” One section is for members only and requires a password. A section is devoted to “lost Gammas” with the hope that even-tually, all will be contacted and “found.” A lost Gamma can contact the webmaster or Darlene Adam Gruwell (’62) at

[email protected]. The site is complete with color and music. It also contains links to health concerns, such as breast cancer, health and aging issues and services, mammog-raphy, osteoporosis, and heart issues.

The site states as its purpose “To promote the social, cul-tural and intellectual ideals of the members,” but it has suc-cessfully given all Gammas a meeting place, in cyberspace! Communication occurs through the Web site, and Darlene has coordinated current e-mail addresses. In this way, members are kept current not only about each other’s lives, but Darlene also disseminates information about Pepperdine events.

Before the GPC reunions, Gammas had gotten together in conjunction with the lectureships at Pepperdine, Homecom-ing events, or social gatherings, often in the Southern California area. One of the more recent events was a brunch reunion held at Darlene’s home in Wrightwood, California, attended by Norma Young-Mahaffey (’61), Sharon Fitzpatrick (’63), Susan Giboney (’62), Charlotte Chase (’61), Carol Whalin (’61), Donna Falls (’62), Carolanne Whitfield (’63), and Robyn Hall (’62).

Another function organized by a Gamma group was a tea held in San Diego, highlighted by hats designed and constructed by Jolene Dillard Harwell. Attending that afternoon were Charlotte Chase, Donna Falls, Carolanne Whitfield, Robyn Hall, Darlene Gruwell, Sharon Fitzpatrick, and Jolene Harwell. Groups have met in various places across the country, such as Maine, Tennes-see, Utah, and Massachusetts. †

A tea party for Sigma Pi Gamma alumnae to honor Jolene Creed Harwell’s birthday in San Diego. Jolene made the hats. Pictured from left to right: Carolanne Bell Whitfield, Sharon Fitzpatrick, Darlene Adam Gruwell, Jolene Creed Harwell, Robyn Winn Hall, Donna Tolbert Falls, Charlotte Crowell Chase.


http://www.sigmapigamma.org


This is a new feature for the Promenade newsletter showcasing your GPC photos! This issue features Promenade writer and GPC alumnus, Jon Washington (’63).

now it’S your turn! Send in your favorite snapshots from your days at George Pepperdine College! Tell your GPC story through these cherished images. “Candid” shots are preferred. Black and white photos are sufficient. All you have to do is mail your photos to us at the following address:

Pepperdine University, GPC Alumni Affairs, Attn: Matt Ebeling – TAC-311 24255 Pacific Coast Highway Malibu, CA 90263 We will then scan the photos and promptly mail the originals back to you. You may also opt to scan the photos yourself and e-mail them to [email protected].

Please ensure that you scan at a high resolution (at least 300 dpi). Be sure to include with each photo an explanation of whom or what ap-pears in the photo and its significance to you and your personal experi-ence as a Wave! †

hoto albumPGPC

Jon with his father on the

Administration Building steps.

The ageless presence of Baxter Hall and Promenade Palms.

A R T I C L E S 6

Jon (left) with one of his favorite

professors, Dr. Wade Ruby (right).

A picture that proves Delores was on campus (at least some of the time)!



A R T I C L E S 7

Dr. Lucille Todd became Pepperdine’s first dean of women in 1961, bringing with her a curious mixture of strict Southern standards of social correctness and a loving heart that sought to link ladies in deep friendship regardless of divisions of race and religion that have been largely overcome in the past four decades.

Dr. Todd arrived in the spring of 1961 and was Pepperdine’s first experience with a “dean of women” position.

“Before she got there, the guy that was dean of men–Bob David-son, who lived with his family in the boy’s dorm–he dealt with everything,” recalled Sharon Fitzpatrick (’63). “I think he was re-ally in over his head with some problems encountered among the women and the sororities. But [Dr. Todd] was great, a very wise, loving person. She was a very accepting, non-judgmental person. A real Christian woman. I am so glad I got to know her.”

Pat Hatchel Hodgson (’62), who was a dorm counselor at Mari-lyn Hall at the time, had to report to Dr. Todd every week. She recalls her as a warm-hearted and flexible woman who “was in-terested in each girl’s life, including my own. She challenged my heart and mind.”

However, sometimes the difference in standards between the South and Southern California had an impact.

“For instance, we were writing a girl’s campus handbook and she took my suggestion of changing Wednesday night’s attire,” Pat recalled. “She was making it mandatory for the girls to wear

hose/nylons to the evening services, as she was such a Southern lady. Anyway, I convinced her that more of us Southern Cal girls would attend if we didn’t have to change clothes and put those on.”

The coeds were more used to bobby socks and sandals than the much more formal and fragile hip-high nylons.

“I thought I would never see that special lady again,” Pat wrote, “but several years after I had moved to the Dallas-Fort Worth area with my family, she retired and moved to be near her daugh-ter Kay, the wife of Irvin Bishop, one of our elders. My husband, Dale Hodgson, and I were facilitating a marriage class and asked her to teach a marriage series. Of course, she was a big hit and blessed many marriages.”

Dr. Todd had her own beliefs that would have horrified her Southern neighbors in 1937 when she and her late husband, Bill, were married. She believed that racial barriers–especially between women–should never stand in the way of Christians who followed the Lord in loving all people.

She and two black friends, Ruth Bales and Ruby Holland, joined in creating a forum on Christian education in July 1971. Attending the seminar in Oceanside, California, were 20 black women and 20 white women. Within a week, the Black and White Group of Los Angeles was formed “to bestow love and understanding throughout the communities in which they live.” The Black and White Group continues working toward its goals, now under the Center for Women’s Studies.

Whatever Happened to... Pepperdine’s First Dean of WomenDr. Lucille Todd,

By Norma Wade Young-Mahaffey (’61) and Bob Andrew (’58)

Bill & Lucille Todd with friend, Annie Green (2006).


Harry Robert Fox, professor of religion, is definitely my favorite professor. I took two of his classes: Living World Religions and a missions class. They were both excellent classes. His appeal went far beyond his knowledge of the classes he taught. He is the most Christ-like person I have ever known. He truly walks humbly with his God and is quietly and firmly grounded in his faith. His love and ac-ceptance of others is so beautiful. He really lives the com-mandment to not judge others. It is part of his nature.

Harry Robert is in his 80s now. He and his wife, Jeri, are living with their son in Utah. This is a recent move for them, and I will miss getting to see Harry Robert at the Pepperdine Bible Lectures each year. He has spent his life-time ministering to others through counseling, preaching, teaching, and helping Churches of Christ when conflicts threaten the unity of their congregations.

Harry Robert became a lifelong friend, mentor and spiri-tual advisor to me. He was with me through all the peaks and valleys of my life, no matter how far astray I was at times. He gently and patiently stayed beside me. Quite simply, I would not be the person I am today if he had not been in my life. I thank God for this precious man. †

Who is your favorite professor? Please write in to share your memories with us! Send your stories to the GPC Alumni Affairs office at [email protected] or by post at the following address:

Pepperdine UniversityGPC Alumni Affairs 24255 Pacific Coast Highway Attn: Matt Ebeling, TAC 311 Malibu, CA 90263

Favorite Professor

Harry Robert FoxBy Darlene Adam Gruwell (’62)

“I loved taking shorthand from her, writing her letters, because she was such a good storyteller. She was a great encourager,” re-calls Peggy Winchell Huffman (’62), who was her secretary be-fore getting married and moving to Arizona.

“When Don Huffman and I decided to elope, I told only my sister Betty Winchell Wendhausen (’69), Sandy Hicks, and Mrs. Todd. Sandy and Betty took me shopping for my little trous-seau, and Mrs. Todd made me an appointment with her gyne-cologist!” Dr. Todd and Gloria Sanders (’41) teamed together to give a reception for the newlyweds after their honeymoon.

Peggy also has fond memories of Dr. Todd “going shopping and getting a terrific outfit and hat for her speech” at Abilene Chris-tian College (now University). “She was like a young girl show-ing off her duds, and, of course, she looked great.”

My own first encounter with Lucille Todd was her arrival, unan-nounced and unexpected, at the Spring Presents banquet for Sig-ma Pi Gamma when I was the outgoing president in the spring of 1961. We were all just finishing up our dinner at the Red Pony restaurant in La Jolla, California, and this lovely woman and her husband came into the dining area. We said we could find a place for them and they were just in time for dessert!

I thought at the time that she was checking up on us to see if there was any violation of the rules, and all of us knew there was to be no dancing or drinking at any Pepperdine social events. Since we had not had a dean of women the four years I was at Pepperdine–and Bob Davidson, dean of students at that time, had never just appeared at a sorority event–we were all abuzz about what the next year was going to bring for the women stu-dents.

Lucille Todd is now living at a senior residence, The Plaza at Ridgemar #610, 6600 Lands End Court, Fort Worth, Texas 76116. She was married to her husband, Bill, for 69 years before he died at home April 5, 2007. Besides her son Bill and daughter Kay Bishop, she has six grandchildren and 16 great-grandchil-dren. †

The great Men vs. Women Debate at Pepperdine (1979).Pictured left to right: J.C. Moore, Wade Ruby, Lucille Todd

A R T I C L E S 8



While thinking back to the days on the cozy little campus at 79th and Vermont, one cannot forget that there had been a football program of some significance, even though it vanished in 1961. Ed Hyduke (’51) contends we have to do something to create for future Pepperdiners an awareness of the place where ath-letic history was once made through this program. Ed had an idea that if a football scholarship was established, it might fill the need.

Hyduke then convened meetings to ponder that subject with Barney Barnhart (’50), Frank D’Alesandro (’59), Jack Drager (’50), Fred Gledhill (’49), Don Greeley (’57), Morris Hawkins (’64), Fred Hoover (’56), Darwin Horn (’49), Ted Kiapos (’50), Dwane Krumme (’65), John Leon (’50), Harry Nelson (’50), Elmer Noonan (’50), Dewey Parke (’49), Rich Raymond (’56), Jay Roelen (’58), Warren VanderSchuit (’57), Gordon Weisen-burger (’55), and Ron Wootton (’66, MA ‘71).

Hyduke’s idea was simple and straightforward. It was well known that sometimes athletes finish their playing eligibility and still need a semester to complete their degree requirements. Pepperdine being a private school, expenses tended to be high, which is where a scholarship could be a help. It was amazing to see how 20 highly vocal guys could come to an early agree-ment. Hence, the “Football Players Endowed Scholarship” was established.

It is with fond memories that I think back to February 1946. As a 24-year-old freshman, I joined older World War II veterans taking advantage of the G.I. Bill to get a college education. That is when George Pepperdine College made the decision to start a football team, and 18 of us reported for spring practice under newly hired head football coach Warren Gaer from Drake Uni-versity of Des Moines, Iowa. Joining me was Jack Drager (’50). I mentioned to him that with this limited group it would be some kind of team.

Jack told me that there would be others as his brother, Dale (’50), would be coming along with a number of others from his high school team. They turned out to be what I called the Wash-ington Brigade. It included Ted Kiapos (’50), Bob Downey (’49), Chuck Calvert (’50), Ron Whitson (’51), Vic Riley (’47), Bob McCluskey (’50), Keith Kenworthy, and Hal McCormick (’51), among others since Washington High School was within walk-ing distance.

When everyone reported in August, the number was 48, includ-ing Darwin Horn (’49), Bo Williams (’50), Marty Cook (’50),

Bob Quine (’49), Keith Dolan (’50), Howard Geiger (’48), George Eppleman, Elmer Noonan (’50), Norm Stillwell (’49), Phil Strom (’48), Walt Reeves (’48), Jim Hamilton (’50), Harry Engelke (’47), Terry Bell (’50), and John Scolinos (’50), to name a few. We all met on the wonderful football field known as “the lawn” in front of Marilyn Hall, the women’s dorm. Oh yes, there were 27 freshmen among us. For the first game, against Whittier College, we won 13-0.

The two big games were against Arizona State in Tempe, which we lost 13-12, and Loyola College at Gilmore Stadium. Before the war, Loyola had a very powerful football program–the likes of USC and up-and-coming UCLA.

Loyola was being hyped as a renewed power that would make a pushover of this new, small college team called Pepperdine. Surprise! The little guys won 21-6. After we also beat Cal Poly Pomona, Redlands, Cal Tech, and Humbolt State, people were beginning to pay attention.

Darwin Horn, who was the second largest scorer in the coun-try, became a focal point for attention. That generated an event which to date is unequalled in collegiate athletics, namely that Pepperdine became the only school to start a football program that in its first year went to a bowl game.

FootballWinner Startwas a

from theBy Harry Nelson (‘50)

A R T I C L E S 9


After all the campaigning and speeches were over, the ballots printed, and just two days before the 1958-59 George Pepper-dine College student body election, Bill Bartell (’60), a Beach-comber fraternity official, spoke out.

“I didn’t like the choices for student body president,” Bartell re-called from his Bakersfield, California, home. “I admired one of our ‘Combers,’ junior John Rettberg (’59), and convinced him to run for president as a write-in. He had shown outstanding leadership qualities within our fraternity and also on the basket-ball floor for Duck Dowell’s Waves.” The competition was Alton Tomlin (’59) who was campaigning on two basic campus issues: greater religious tolerance and a campus swimming pool.

“I was surprised about John’s late entry into the race,” said Tom-lin, who now lives in Muldoon, Texas. “John and I were friends.

“At least I ended up as president of the Knights, GPC’s men’s service club,” Tomlin said. “In those days, that’s usually what happened. The student body president runner-up was offered to head the Knights.”

Rettberg was hesitant at first because he was on a basketball scholarship. After talking with (Coach) Dowell and getting his permission, he said to Bill, “Go ahead and submit my name.”

As part of the deal with the coach, Rettburg promised to give back his basketball scholarship so Duck could recruit another player. “I had been told the student body president gets a full scholarship,” Rettberg explained.

The rest is history.

John won the election–the first (and only) write-in to do so.

His presidency, as it turned out, didn’t interfere with his studies or his golf and basketball experiences.

As a senior, Rettberg, the team’s point guard, received All-Conference Honorable Mention, averaged 12 points per game (a game high of 28 points), and was team captain. Of Rett-berg, Dowell even said, “He was one of the three best shooters I ever coached.”

Not only that, Rettberg also earned all As and Bs his junior and senior years.

“That’s after Dr. Ruby, Coach Dowell, Oly Tegner and others helped me get my priorities in order. They kept on my case and changed my life,” Rettberg said.

While president, Rettberg instituted Western Day (even hav-ing Chuck Connors at the event), helped organize a pep band, and convinced then Pepperdine College president Dr. Norvel Young he should be part of the Monday chapel program to keep students in the know about campus events. His fellow student board officers included Bernardo Garcia (’59), vice president; Pat Lane (’59), secretary; and Eldon Gottschalk (’59), treasurer.

After graduation, along with attaining the rank of sergeant ma-jor in the California Army National Guard, Rettberg began a 33-year career with Northrop Grumman, a Los Angeles-based firm that provides technologically advanced defense and com-mercial electronics, information systems integration, and nucle-ar and nonnuclear shipbuilding and operating systems. Rettberg retired from Northrop Grumman in 1995, but not before show-ing time and time again his leadership qualities–the same quali-ties his Beachcomber brother, Bartell, recognized in the late ‘50s.

GPC Student Body Presidents – Where are they NOW?

By Jon Washington (’63)RETTBERG as a Last-Minute Write-In Won the 1958-59 PRESIDENCY

A R T I C L E S 10

The first indication of national attention came when sports writ-er Deke Houlgate made his All-American selections, which in-cluded Glen Davis and Doc Blanchard of Army. Houlgate noted that his “Team of the Year” was Pepperdine.

The second attraction came when it was reported that Pepper-dine was one of five teams being considered to play Tennessee in the Orange Bowl. That did not occur, but the Waves team was selected to play in the Will Rogers Bowl in Oklahoma City,

where we competed against Nebraska Wesleyan and edged out a 38-13 victory.

The following year, the team was undefeated and in a 2-year pe-riod went 17-1. In 1947, Horn was the nation’s highest scorer and an All-American.

It is easy to understand the thinking of Ed Hyduke that this very important aspect in the history of Pepperdine Athletics should have some visibility to all present and future students. †


Jim Randolph, who graduated from Pepperdine College in 1966, was named chairman of the Board of Trustees for Rochester College, a Christian college in Rochester, Michigan, in October 2007. He had served on the board since 1998 and became chairman of its finance committee in 2004.

Randolph began his career of nearly 40 years with General Motors while still an undergraduate at Pepperdine. He graduated with a business degree in 1967 and later received his MA in business administration from Central Michigan Univer-sity.

In an aside comment e-mailed with the announcement about his appointment, Randolph credited a specific professor for the start of his General Motors career.

“Edward Bailey was my accounting prof for several classes, including taxation, which nearly kept me from graduating. However, he was most noteworthy for golf and the fact that he played often with the controller of the General Motors assembly plant in South Gate. He recommended me to him for a job in 1966,

Prior to becoming corporate treasurer in 1987, Rettberg served in many other capacities for the L.A.-based company af-ter joining the firm as an engineering clerk performing budget-ing functions.

He was transferred to finance in 1965 and held several positions in finance and business management for various divisions and the corporate office. In 1980, he was assigned the business man-agement responsibilities for the $50 billion B-2 Stealth Bomber program. Northrop-Grumman was the prime contractor for the U.S. Air Force.

Rettberg had organizational responsibility for finance, major subcontracts, prime contracts and pricing, audit, and the overall management of 1,500 people.

Even in retirement, Rettberg still jet-sets, serving as a trustee on a JPMorgan Chase mutual fund board of directors in New York and director and chief financial officer for the Network of Evangelical Women in Ministry in Southern California. He has previously served as a board director for the Vari-Lite Corp., Enalasys Corp., Junior Achievement, and the Independent Col-leges of Southern California.

“I’m slowing down now,” Rettberg said. “Too much traveling.”

More importantly, Rettberg points out, “I have been able to serve Pepperdine, too, over the years.”

That’s Rettberg’s quiet, modest personality. He has more than simply served Pepperdine.

For starters, he is a past president of the Pepperdine Alumni Association and is currently a member of the Alumni Leader-ship Council, hand picked by Pepperdine University president, Andrew K. Benton. He also serves the University as a member and former chair of the Athletics Board, among other capacities.

In keeping with his interest in Pepperdine Athletics, Rettberg was responsible for raising funds for the Duck Dowell Basket-ball Floor in the Firestone Fieldhouse gymnasium and numer-ous other successful projects.

Rettberg’s love for Pepperdine basketball started when he was “12 or 13 and living on 79th Street about two miles from GPC. I used to ride my bike down the street to the gym and cheer for the Waves,” Rettberg said. “In those days, the Waves were decked out in peppermint-striped uniforms.”

He recently was honored by the University with a Distinguished Alumnus Award and with the Oly Tegner Award for Outstand-ing Volunteer Service.

Rettberg married Jackie Todd (’59), a GPC music production standout, in 1959. They have two married children, “two won-derful daughters-in-law and five grandchildren,” a proud Rett-berg wrote in his response to a Promenade questionnaire.

The Rettbergs are members of the Sierra Vista Community Church, where their youngest son is the pastor.

Editor’s Note – This is the first of an ongoing Promenade feature. Share with GPC Alumni Affairs your stories about “your” GPC stu-dent body president and his or her accomplishments after graduation. †

A R T I C L E S 11

GPC Grad Named BOARD CHAIRof Another Christian College By Jon Washington (’63)


What a treat to be in a room with the “Ladies of the Great-est Generation!” I’ve had the joy of supporting the continu-ing tradition of the M.I.T.A.Y. luncheon, born of Harry Nelson (’50) and Darwin Horn’s (’49) cherishing of their Pepperdine days. From this men’s annual get-together of athletes, the GPC Alumni Affairs office started a ladies lun-cheon in an adjacent room while the men told their stories and hugged their pals.

Some of the ladies are GPC alumnae and others feel like they “caught the bug” from their husbands. As each lady stands up at her table and tells her story of how she met her husband or her own days at the old campus, one feels a warm connection to the richness of their lives and their Pepperdine experience.

You folks have seen it all: depression, war, strife, the strug-gles of life, and now the challenges of age. Despite those challenges, you push to get to these annual sparkles in time for a moment to remember when life was a bit less cluttered, sharing your common “Waves” experience and your core be-liefs with special friends. Pepperdine is really rich to have all of you! †

which I accepted while still attending GPC. It was a career that lasted until 2003 when I retired as the executive director of global business services.”

Randolph also met his wife, the former Caye Cannon (’64), while they were both GPC students. They married in 1963 and have three daughters, Dalaina Harrell, a graduate of Abilene Christian University, and Jamie Watson (’91) and Allison Ballard (’93), both graduates of Pepperdine Univer-sity. Jim and Caye Randolph also have eight grandchildren.

The Randolph family has long been supporters of Christian education, a tradition passed down by Jim’s maternal grand-father, E. W. McMillan, who was instrumental in founding Ibaraki Christian College in Japan after World War II. Prior to serving on the Rochester College board, both Jim and Caye served for several years on the Pepperdine University Board of Visitors.

Caye Cannon Randolph also offered memories of her favor-ite Pepperdine professors:

“Dr. Tegner and Mrs. Pat Lucas would certainly be at the top of my list. They were my major professors and were ex-tremely knowledgeable. Mrs. Lucas, director of elementary education student teaching, was an outstanding professor. I think of her often as I continue my work in the field of education as the director of student teachers at Rochester College. Another of my favorites was Dr. James Atkinson, English professor. He shared a quote with our class that I have continued to reflect on, what, some 45 years later. ‘The joy of recognition is greater than the joy of surprise.’ Guess that is what alumni associations are all about, right?” †

A R T I C L E S 12

By Avesta Carrara - GPC Alumni Affairs Photography by Hanson Williams

The Classiest of Company –

GPCLuncheonLadies

A few of the ever lovely M.I.T.A.Y. Ladies

GPC alumni interested in attending this annual event should send an email to [email protected] or call (310) 506-4348



The term “Pepperdine Spirit” was given even more special mean-ing to me on January 27, 2009, when I had the honor of attend-ing the annual GPC alumni M.I.T.A.Y. (Made It Through An-other Year) men’s luncheon.

Warm, smiling faces, hearty handshakes, big bear hugs (thanks, Paul Perry), and genuine Wave pride consumed me from the moment I entered the beautiful banquet room of the Grand, Long Beach Event Center, a wonderful backdrop for this unique gathering.

I recall asking Harry Nelson (’50) upon my arrival, “Hey Harry! So what’s the agenda today?”

“No agenda,” he replied. “M.I.T.A.Y. is simply a place for all of us to gather to celebrate life and one another. Anybody can get up anytime and say whatever they’d like.”

And so it went, enjoying fellowship, lively conversations around the luncheon tables, storytelling from the podium, boisterous laughter, and countless heartfelt moments of encouragement and acknowledgement to one another.

At the gentlemen’s luncheon, Sam Lagana of Pepperdine Athlet-ics got our blue and orange blood pumping as he paid homage to the great Pepperdine football teams of yesteryear and gave us a peek at the present and future of Pepperdine Athletics and the fighting spirit of our amazing student-athletes. We remembered dear friends who have passed and celebrated new friendships forged. Dr. Charles B. Runnels, Chancellor Emeritus for Pep-perdine, demonstrated his usual class in honoring each of you and what you have meant to him personally–as well as to Pep-perdine University–and how very important your support over the years has always been toward strengthening our students for lives of purpose, service, and leadership.

Those stories that you all share are so important to me and to the next generations of the Pepperdine Family. With every tale, you show us how Pepperdine came to be and how it must con-tinue to be. You illustrate the pure values upon which this in-stitution is still based, leading us to an even more meaningful future. You challenge us to do more, and you inspire us to carry the GPC torch with pride as we take what you started at 79th and Vermont and spread it from Malibu to L.A., Washington, D.C., Germany, Italy, China, and every other shore in our world that feels the powerful impact of our Waves.

As you all celebrate “making it through another year,” I proudly celebrate how your inspiring stories and wisdom will undoubt-edly shape the year ahead for me and for so many other mem-bers of the Pepperdine Family. Thank you, God bless you, and I look forward to seeing you again very soon, my brothers. †

Annual Men’s Luncheon By Matt Ebeling (’99) Executive Director, GPC Alumni Affairs

Photography by Hanson Williams

M.I.T.A.Y. And The Power of STorYTellIng

A R T I C L E S 13

Harry Nelson ('50) rallies the Waves!

GPC Alumni: (top row, left to right) Hal Syfritt (‘63), Harry Nelson (‘50), Jim Gibson (‘58), Ted Porter (‘59), Sol Henderson (‘59); (bottom row, left to right) John Katch (‘60), Al Calce (‘57), Duane Larue (‘58), and Bill Squire (‘53).

GPC Alumni: (standing, left to right) Duane Sherman, Bayard Bartley (‘49), Sam Lagana (Assoc. Vice Chancellor, Advancement & Athletics), Val Fejtek (‘52), and Paul Perry (‘50); (seated) Dr. Jim Hedstrom, Ph.D. (‘51).


Even with passing time, George Pepperdine College athletes continue to find their way to the Pepperdine University Athlet-ics Hall of Fame.

“It’s been a long time,” said basketball player, coach and former high school teacher, John Furlong (’51), reacting to his induction in November 2008. “But now the wait is over and I’m thrilled to be included in this most exclusive group. The idea that my efforts, not only as an athlete at Pepperdine, but as a high school coach/teacher at Woodland Hills, California, Taft High School, have been recognized by my peers is a grand feeling, believe me, and I am overwhelmed by the honor.”

In recognition of Furlong’s basketball coaching success at Taft High School, the school named the gymnasium after him.

Joining Furlong in the hall in 2008 was James Brinton, M.D. (’57), a three-year baseball letterman and longtime physician (28 years, urologic surgeon in Huntington Beach and Newport Beach, California) and Pepperdine supporter as a member of the Seaver Board of Visitors, the Alumni Board, and the Athletics Board. He is also in attendance at many Pepperdine basketball and baseball games, and is a Pepperdine Endowed Associate, having personally endowed the John Scolinos Award.

He was elected for the Distinguished Service category, which is described within the program as “Special recognition for ex-ceptional contributions and service to the athletic program at Pepperdine University.”

“It’s great–and somewhat unexpected,” Brinton said of his Hall of Fame induction. “I have served on the selection committee–but I had no idea I was about to be voted in.”

“Scolinos played a big part in my maturation at Pepperdine,” Brinton said. “He still, to this day (at age 91), gives the right signals for life. I’ve never heard a negative word or character ref-erence to him. He’s a living legend of what it means to have lived life successfully by being a great teacher, coach, and friend. He walks the walk and talks the talk. He also has had a great influ-ence on young coaches. He even advised me (correctly, I might add) to turn down a minor league baseball contract from the Boston Red Sox and go to medical school.”

“I love Pepperdine for what it did for me,” Brinton said. “I met my wife, Lorraine, there, was active in Beta Tau Delta, and earned an undergraduate degree in biology before entering the UC Irvine Medical School.”

Furlong, after completing military duty in the U.S. Army, was a three-year letterman in basketball (’49, ’50, and ‘51) at center. He earned All-American honors as a senior after leading the Waves

in scoring (13.6 points per game) and rebounding (7.7 rebounds per game) and led scoring as a junior as well with 11 points per game. He also was an outstanding multi-athlete at Los Angeles, Fremont High School.

Established in 1980, the Pepperdine Athletics Hall of Fame, (counting 2008 inductees Furlong and Brinton, along with seven others from Pepperdine University) now includes 77 individuals (both men and women), 12 teams, and seven special achieve-ment recipients.

The special achievement recipients include Helen Pepperdine, Eddy D. and Helen Field, Hugh Tiner, Leonard K. Firestone, Howard A. White, Charles B. Runnels, and Neal Scott. Our be-loved Olaf Tegner was named to the Hall in 1984.

“Our Athletics Hall of Fame is a showcase for Pepperdine’s rich history in intercollegiate athletics,” Pepperdine Director of Ath-letics, Dr. John Watson, said. “These athletes have earned their well-deserved place in our Hall of Fame, not only for what they accomplished at 79th and Vermont and Malibu, but in their pro-fessional lives as well, whether in athletics or in other fields.”

To be eligible for induction, nominees must have competed, coached for, or rendered an extraordinary service to Pepperdine College/Athletics. After nominees are identified, Pepperdine University’s Hall of Fame Committee makes the final decisions. Specific categories are as follows: Former Students – Athletic Achievement, Former Students – Professional Achievement, Coach or Administrator, Distinguished Service, Athletic Team, and the Posthumous Award.

To nominate an individual or team for Hall of Fame con-sideration or for a complete listing of honorees, please visit the Hall of Fame category listed on the Pepperdine Athletics Web site: www.pepperdine.edu/athletics/. †

GPC Athletes Selected for Pepperdine Athletics Hall of Fame By Jon Washington (’63)

John Furlong (‘51) humbly accepts his Hall of Fame induction.

A R T I C L E S 14


http://www.pepperdine.edu/athletics/

A busload of Seaver students returned to mid-century Pepper-dine on October 25, 2008.

“It’s satisfying to see where it all began,” said Genna Jones, presi-dent (not to mention paid employee) of the Seaver Student Alumni Organization, who teamed with Amanda Marble in (wonderful) organization of the tour.

Eight not-so-distinguished George Pepperdine College alumni escorted gaggles of Seaver students, ebbing and flowing as they swirled about the perimeter of the 79th and Vermont campus.

“. . . and this is where Dr. Ruby (Dr. Wade Ruby, former head of the English department) fended off a brigade of vicious snarling sparrows,” a tour guide embellished with relish. “They were at-tacking his hair. We never asked to borrow his pomade.”

“The line of students selling their used textbooks back to the bookstore would extend well beyond the Graphic (student news-paper) office, which was not much more than a kiosk, parked about the middle of the lawn.”

“Wasn’t this where Dr. (Hubert) Derrick taught his infamous ‘Bible in Survey’ class?” one guide asked another.

“Don’t know. He didn’t require attendance (if you knew the an-swers on the test). That’s why it was infamous,” the other guide responded.

“Dr. Ashby (Leo, history and civics, and husband of Louise, home economics) was boisterously garrulous and definitely not a sight for sore eyes at the ‘O’ (Oasis) on Saturday mornings.”

Several students remarked on how much fun it must have been to have a quad of sorts where the student body congregated/frol-

icked/brawled/played intramural sports and occasionally threw each other into “Delores,” a mid-campus fountain named after its centerpiece, a cherubic statue. “Delores,” it is rumored, clan-destinely resides at an unknown location in the United States.

“Wow, George Pepperdine, himself, walked here?”

“Yes, as did Mrs. Pepperdine and various relatives. The Pep-perdines attended chapel every Monday. And Monday chapel wasn’t even mandatory for them.”

To the Seaver students, GPC professorial icons such as Dr. Wil-liam “Bill” Banowsky and Dr. Howard White have been better known as streets and buildings on the Malibu campus.

“They were giants,” an alumnus assured them. “But at the time, unfortunately, we didn’t realize we would never again encounter anybody like them.”

But then, even on the old campus, there were monuments to gi-ants of the past that the touring alumni had never met. Baxter Hall, the men’s dorm, which has since been replaced by a parking lot, was named for Dr. Batsell Baxter, an early president of the college. The ladies’ dorm, named Marilyn Hall, in commemo-ration of George Pepperdine’s daughter, still stands but is now used as a Christian preschool.

Students learned that even back then, Pepperdine was a way of life–an exceptionally convivial ménage. Now that I’ve finished recording their discovery of the old campus, I’m going to get over to the Malibu campus to see if I can get Genna or some other students to show me around. †

Mr. Barney Barnhart (‘50)Mr. Michael Barnhart (‘74, MA ‘77)Mrs. Peggy Beckett (‘51)Mr. Ronald Bishop (‘53) Mr. Granville Lipscomb “Lip” Crothers (‘39)Mr. Frank D’Alessandro (‘59, MA ‘62)Dr. Richard Dankworth (‘52)Mrs. Isabella (Scannell) Dorriety (‘68)Mr. Eugene Harding (‘49)Mr. Eddie Hasson (‘49)

Dr. Hale Haws (‘47)Mr. James Hensley (‘69, MBA ‘76)Mrs. Lillian (Holiday) Moore (‘66, MS ‘81)Mr. John Imbler (‘43)Mr. Hubert Lee (‘50)Mrs. Anne (Marbury) Ligda (‘63)Mrs. Velda (Wright) McDonald (‘57)Mr. Marshall Miller (‘50)Dr. Bob Montgomery (‘51)Mr. Gerald Montgomery (‘63)

Mr. Chris Sangster (‘75, MBA ‘81)Mr. Fred Sevier (‘65)Mrs. Mary (Freeman) Stephens (‘57, MS ‘74)Mr. Dale Stewart (‘42)Mrs. Lena (Copeland) Thomas (‘46)Ms. Arline Votour (‘58)Mr. Jack Wallace (‘51)Mrs. Carol (Huff ) Whalin (‘61)

We take this time to remember those Waves who have recently passed, and we celebrate the impact they made on fellow alumni and the world around them.

GPC Returns toLife for Seaver StudentsBy Chuck Cole (’61)

In Memorium

A R T I C L E S 15

As you learn of the passing of George Pepperdine College alumni, please contact GPC Alumni Affairs at (310) 506-4348 or [email protected].



In future issues of the Promenade newsletter, we will be featuring brief up-dates from you! If you are an alumnus of George Pepperdine College and have an update to share that took place within the past six months, please send your update to us via e-mail at [email protected] or by post to the following address:

Pepperdine UniversityGPC Alumni Affairs24255 Pacific Coast HighwayAttn: Matt Ebeling, TAC 311Malibu, CA 90263

Be sure to include your first and last name, the year you graduated, and just a few sentences describing your update. We are always interested in your photos, too, which may be included in this feature.

We are looking forward to hearing from you!

GPC Class Notes

24255 Pacific Coast HighwayMalibu, CA 90263

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Promenade Spring 2009