The ACU community lost not only a friend, but also a valuable wealth of history when Garvin Beauchamp, 82, passed away Monday morning.
Beauchamp was head coach of Abilene’s undefeated football team in 1950, dean of students from 1956-83 and vice president for student life from 1983-91.
With each year, more of the men and women who helped ACU become the university it is today are passing on.
The U.S. population of those over 80 years, the WWII generation, is dying at a rate of 1,000 per day, or about one every 1.4 seconds. That means since the reader began this editorial, about 10 people have died who won’t be able to tell about what it was like on D-Day, about living on the coast of California after Pearl Harbor or about leaving the house to rivet together airplanes in the factory down the street.
The same applies to those who played vital roles in ACU’s early history. Students and faculty should take advantage of the opportunities remaining to learn about the places from which the older generation came, the events and experiences through which they lived and the lessons and wisdom they have gained.
A book written by Dr. John C. Stevens, former president of the university, is an excellent place to start. No Ordinary University, The History of a City Set on a Hill, is available at Brown Library. The book outlines the history of the university from its founding.
Many WWII veterans and pioneers of the university now live in Christian Village of Abilene across the street from the Don H. Morris Center. Students who recognize the value of memories, history and a matured perspective on life make regular visits to play dominoes, visit and listen.
The ACU community shouldn’t become so wrapped up in classes, exams, papers and projects that it forgets to look back, and the best way to look back is with someone who has been there.
The death of Garvin Beauchamp brought great sadness to the ACU community, but perhaps the worse tragedy are the many who die each day without leaving a legacy, without sharing how life used to be, with no one asking them to tell.
