Vanguard University Loses Campus Grandpa, Gains his Estate

Anyone who has ever attended college is likely familiar with that “one old guy” or “one old woman” who still hang out on campus every day as if they had a class to make. We had one on my campus, and he was jovial and kind and always interested in conversing with anyone, or just keeping our squirrels fed. Vanguard University had one of these people, too. His name was Bruce Lindsay, and for more than 40 years he had lunch, and sometimes other meals, every day in the student dining hall. He past away in February, and left his entire estate to this Orange County Christian university.

Bruce Lindsay at the Vanguard University dining hall. (via OCRegister)

Known as the “campus grandpa” by students, Lindsay amassed his fortune by buying up cut-rate oil leases and flipping beachfront homes. A product of the Great Depression, Lindsay relished a good, cheap meal and abandoned a nearby hospital cafeteria for Vanguard where he found all-you-can-eat meals for $1.25.
“‘Frugal’ is not the right word for Bruce,” suggested business professor Ed Westbrook, who befriended Lindsay. “He was real miserly.”
Lindsay ate all of his meals on campus and often talked with both students and teachers, doling out advice. A former university president gave Lindsay the title of “student advocate” in the 1980s and with the title came free cafeteria food.
He became such a fixture at the 2,200-student university, he would often hold court in the crowded dining hall. (via Yahoo News)

Rumor is that future students may be able to eat lunch in a dining hall named for this generous donor.