Frances and Gordon Aspengren Scholarship

If ever there were a search for the most devoted Swedish Lutheran couple, the Aspengrens would rank among the finalists. They were loving and steadfast through their 56 years of marriage. Gordon passed away in 1998, and Frances 15 years later. In all those years, they never wavered in their love and commitment to each other.

Gordon and Frances were a perfect match. Both were college graduates and shared a love of learning. Frances was a graduate of UCLA; Gordon graduated from Augustana in Illinois and then earned a master’s in library science at USC. Their ties with the Swedish community of Los Angeles were very strong, as evidenced by their long and faithful membership at Angelica Lutheran Church. Gordon’s talents included playing the organ, and he served as organist at Angelica Lutheran for several years. Frances was content to be Gordon’s soul mate, opening her home to guests and entertaining in the finest Swedish style, giving generously to those who needed her time and attention. No matter what was going on around her, she never lost her sweet disposition or her warm smile.

Both Gordon and Frances had a fierce loyalty to higher education, especially Lutheran higher education. That loyalty is what led them to California Lutheran College in the late 1950s. They quickly came to be proponents of the vision of a Lutheran college in Southern California, and Gordon became one of CLC’s founders and original signers. He served on the first Board of Governors of the California Lutheran Educational Foundation (CLEF), the precursor to CLC.

As a librarian at USC for 20 years, Gordon was extremely detail-oriented and conscientious. When he made a commitment, as he did in building the Frances and Gordon Aspengren Scholarship, it was a sacred pledge. The Aspengrens were people of modest means, but they planned wisely and deliberately for what they had. Although they had no children, they possessed a strong belief in the value of a quality education in the Lutheran tradition of faith and reason, the hallmark of California Lutheran College/University.

And so, the Frances and Gordon Aspengren Scholarship was created through gifts of stock and was based on very simple criteria: financial need and a 3.0 minimum grade point average. As can be seen in the establishment of the scholarship that bears their names, Gordon and Frances Aspengren exemplified solid Christian stewardship—in the Swedish tradition.