Remembering coach and professor emeritus Grant Dunlap '46, alumni volunteer Andy Beattie Jr. '75, and chemistry professor emeritus and wine enthusiast Ralph Amey.
A Student of the Game
When GRANT L. DUNLAP '46 signed with the Cincinnati Reds in 1941 at age 17, he used the $870 signing bonus he received to pay for surgery for his mother. The Stockton native—who died September 10 at his Vista home—played 16 games at shortstop for the Class C Riverside Reds that season, beginning a professional baseball career which landed him briefly in the majors in 1953 with the St. Louis Cardinals. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps in the South Pacific and China during WWII before enrolling at Oxy in the V-12 program as a physical education major. Dunlap played for the Tigers in the 1944 season at shortstop, batting .464 and being chosen first-team All-Conference. With his playing days behind him, Dunlap returned to Oxy as a coach and professor in 1954. He coached baseball for 30 seasons, winning nine SCIAC crowns, while his basketball teams notched five conference titles in his 16 years as coach. He also served as the College's athletic director from 1971 to 1976 and retired as professor emeritus of physical education in 1984. Dunlap was a member of the Oxy basketball and baseball halls of fame and was inducted into the Occidental Athletics Hall of Fame last year. Survivors include his daughter and son-in-law, Diane (Dunlap) '69 and Chris Calkins '67; son Doug Dunlap '71; and four grandchildren, including Matthew Calkins '96.
Committed to Community
There was no truer Tiger than ANDY BEATTIE JR. '75. He served as a resident adviser and head resident as a political science major, developing many lifelong friendships. As an alumnus, he supported Oxy athletics and was a longtime member and former president of the Alumni Association Board of Governors. Beattie, who died July 27 in La Cañada, was just as active in his community—a committed volunteer, public safety commissioner, and past president of the La Cañada Unified School Board and La Cañada High School Spartan Boosters. He had a long career in the clothing and fashion industry, and was most recently senior vice president of Strategic Partners Inc., heading its classroom school uniform division. A staunch Democrat, Beattie volunteered for the White House Office of Advance, traveling with presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama '83 and visiting Baghdad, Seoul, and Warsaw. He is survived by his wife, Kim, and three daughters.
Of Cabernets and Chemistry
When he wasn't immersed in his teaching or research, RALPH AMEY was busy uncorking his other passion: wine. He organized tastings of California wines back in the 1960s, well before the industry had found its legs, and spent the decades to follow as a collector, certified wine educator, judge, and noted writer (his 2003 volume Wines of Baja California remains the only book in English on the wineries of the Valle de Guadalupe). Amey, professor of chemistry emeritus, died July 7 in Los Angeles. He was 77. A native of Huntington Park, he received his B.A. in chemistry and mathematics from Pomona College and his Ph.D. in physical chemistry from Brown University. He joined the Oxy faculty in 1965, and directed the College's NSF Undergraduate Research program for 10 years. Amey retired in 2004. He was twice elected to the board of the international Society of Wine Educators. Amey is survived by his wife of 28 years, Eunice; sons Steven and Mark; and four grandchildren.
