Faculty Profile:
Tom Reck

Faculty Reflection

Opportunities for Giving

Campus Collage

Helping To Make CSU, Chico Better

The word "millionaire" can conjure up images of debonair men in tuxedos and limousines, on the one hand, or of scruffy software whiz kids, on the other. Richard B. Dinsmore was neither. A man of simple pleasures, Richard lived a life similar to many in the North State. He loved to fish and hunt, enjoyed traveling with his wife, Ruth, and punched the clock at PG&E.

Richard never attended college. His only contact with California State University, Chico was through Ruth's employment at Meriam Library for many years. He believed education to be important and saw financial gifts to Chico State a fitting way to honor Ruth's memory and use his remaining resources. An intensely private man, Richard was outspoken with his friends in his strong belief that people should take individual responsibility and be rewarded for their achievements. His years of wise investing allowed him to reward high-achieving students with scholarships to obtain a college education. The Richard and Ruth Dinsmore Scholarship Fund was established through a combination of outright gifts of $220,000 in 1996 and 1997 and an additional gift of $1.4 million in 1998 after Richard died.

An electrician, Richard learned his trade while serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II. After the war, he landed a job with PG&E and worked with them until 1964 when he was in a severe car accident while on his way from Chico to Yuba City for work.

The accident left Richard permanently disabled, and his lifestyle changed considerably. He had to curtail his deer hunting and fishing expeditions along the back roads of Northern California. He and Ruth had frequently traveled, especially enjoying cruises to Alaska and Mexico. They had considered retiring to Mexico, but the accident made them reluctant to leave the medical care they knew.

The Dinsmores decided to settle in Lodi where they already had friends such as Alice Purdy. When Ruth could no longer get around easily, Purdy, a hairdresser, came to the Dinsmore home to take care of Ruth's hair. When offered payment, Purdy declined but accepted a cup of coffee and conversation, getting to know them even better.

Purdy described Richard as a kind, caring friend. He installed three fans in Purdy's house and helped his elderly neighbors by cooking for them when they were ill. A believer in self-reliance, Richard liked to do his own grocery shopping and cooking. Purdy said, "He cooked, by gosh and by golly, fixing basic dishes like meat loaf and beans." His yard boasted a variety of fruit trees, some of which Richard had grafted. To preserve the harvest, he dried fruit. Laying figs out on a window screen, he placed another screen on top, drying them in the valley heat. He also cut his own hair, taking the clippers to head and keeping it short and simple.

After Ruth's death, Richard developed a friendship with the woman living next door. They eventually married, but although they lived in her house, he kept his. As he explained to Purdy, sometimes a man "needs a little escape." He also bought a double-wide trailer in DeFuniak Springs, Florida, where the Dinsmores lived during the winters, spending the summers in Lodi. After his second wife died, Richard moved back into his home.

In February 1997, Richard was diagnosed with cancer. On Thanksgiving Day, he went to the hospital and never returned home, dying in December 1997. His legacy, the Richard and Ruth Dinsmore Scholarship Fund, will enrich students' lives for years to come.

Barbara Alderson, University PublicationsInterested in setting up a scholarship fund? Write to Ed Masterson, Office of University Development, California State University, Chico,Chico, CA 95929-0155