In Memoriam

State Treasurer Ben Westlund ’72

Oregon State Treasurer Bernard “Ben” Westlund ’72 died March 7, 2010.

Westlund was born Sept. 3, 1949, in Apple Valley, Calif., to Bernard “Bud” and Dorothy Westlund.

Ben Westlund, an education and history major at Whitman, was a member of Sigma Chi fraternity. He studied business at the University of Oregon and then co-owned American Fossil Company in Christmas Valley, Ore., and operated High Country Herefords.

Westlund was elected state treasurer in 2008, and he continued to serve as he fought cancer. He was elected state representative from central Oregon in 1996, appointed to the state Senate in 2003 and elected in 2004. He ran for governor in 2006.

While treasurer, Westlund led reforms to increase accountability and options for the state college savings plan and helped secure a $20 million settlement for savings investors. As a legislator, he was instrumental in creating the Oregon Cultural Trust and the Public Safety Memorial Fund, which provides money to families of officers killed or injured in the line of duty.

His “spirit and enthusiasm will continue to inspire the best in all of us,” said Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski.

Westlund is survived by his wife, Libby Bishop; children, B.J. and Taylor; two brothers and their spouses, Richard Westlund ’73 and Jana Nyblad Westlund ’73, and Morris and Paula Westlund.

Overseer emerita Georgia-Mae Wilkins Gallivan ’37

Georgia-Mae Wilkins Gallivan ’37, a Whitman overseer emerita and former class representative, died March 29, 2010, in Vancouver, Wash.

She was born in Spokane, Wash., on July 24, 1915, and was raised in Pasco, Wash., and Walla Walla. At Whitman she participated in glee club and was junior class vice president. After graduation, she lived and worked in New York City; Boise, Idaho; Washington, D.C.; Walla Walla and eventually settled in Vancouver.

Chair emerita of the Humanities Division of Clark College, Gallivan mentored numerous students, and provided leadership on the National Arts and Humanities and Washington State Arts and Humanities boards. She earned the 1996 Woman of Achievement award from the Clark County YWCA and Clark College Women’s program. She was a Whitman class representative for 1979-1980 and was an overseer from 1987 to 1997, when she was named an overseer emerita. She enjoyed nourishing her family, friends and home.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Robert.