Mona D. Ockerman Scholarship

Frugality may be defined as the art of living one’s life economically, saving prudently and requiring few resources. That is a good description of the lifestyle of Mona Ockerman, a longtime resident of Long Beach.

Mona, a childless widow, lived in an apartment and didn’t socialize much, except with her pets. Fortunately (both for Mona and for CLU), she developed a trusting relationship with her attorney, Borgny Baird, a highly respected lawyer in Long Beach and a devoted Lutheran who had served on the CLU board of regents for 15 years.

When Mona reached her 70th birthday she decided it was time to put her affairs in order and turned to her lawyer for help. Along the way, Mona had been following the advice of her financial adviser and had invested in a number of stocks but not tracked their performance very closely. As Borgny guided Mona through the decision-making process of creating her last will and testament, the attorney began to realize the magnitude of Mona’s estate. She urged Mona to make wise choices. After bequeathing her plants to a male friend, her wedding ring to a female friend and her personal effects to the Salvation Army, Mona was faced with the dilemma of what to do with her remaining financial assets. She told Borgny that she wished to leave $1,000 to each of five agencies that served animals (feline, canine, humane society and animal adoptions) but had no idea about what to do with her other assets.

At that point, Borgny suggested that Mona might do as Borgny and her husband had done and leave most of their estate to a scholarship fund. The idea struck a responsive chord with Mona, and thus the Mona D. Ockerman Scholarship came into being, at least on paper.

Mona passed away four years later in 1986. On Honors Day 1988, the endowed Mona D. Ockerman Scholarship was awarded for the first time to four students. The criterion for the award is simply stated: “for needy and deserving students at California Lutheran University.” In the end, Mona Ockerman left a legacy that will influence the lives of CLU students for years to come.