Delbert L. Johnson Endowed Scholarship

Delbert L. Johnson was known simply as “Del” to his many friends and colleagues. He was also known to be a man of amazing talent and boundless energy. By profession he was an accomplished electronics design engineer who worked at ITT Laboratories in Indiana and Control Data Corp. in California. He was also an entrepreneur. In 1970 he founded Deltec Corp., an electronics manufacturing company, which he sold 10 years later. Outside of work Del loved to go mountain climbing, play the pipe organ and harpsichord, and invest in the stock market.

As much as he loved his hobbies and outside interests he loved serving his church more. An active member of the Lutheran church wherever he lived, Del served as secretary for the Pacific Southwest Synod of the Lutheran Church in America, as vice president for development at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, and as a member of the Board of Regents of CLU from 1988 to 1992. His service to the church came to a close with his death in late 1992.

Del’s family included wife Ann, sons Gregory and Bryan, and daughter Crystal. Ann was a teacher who taught English as a second language at Holy Names College (today, Holy Names University) in Oakland. Most of her students were young adults in their 20s. Ann continued teaching even after Del’s death, going on to work with immigrant families in the Alameda family literacy program. She retired in 2001.

After Del’s death Ann decided that one meaningful way to honor his life and service would be to establish a scholarship. She supplemented the many memorial gifts with her own donations to endow the award in perpetuity. Initially she requested that preference be given to students who were seeking degrees in one of the natural sciences or in music—Del’s two main interests. However, in 2002 when she learned that CLU had a new program in bioengineering, she modified the criteria to make bioengineering the preferred major for award recipients, with music the second choice.