LV Life

Couple retires from LV with style

Bill and Barbara Blackmur both retired in July. Bill worked for the University of La Verne as a telecommunications manager for 10 years. He would purchase, install and maintain telephone switches. Barbara was an administrative assistant I for the School of Continuing Education and worked at ULV for seven years. She enters new students’ information and student files into the Banner System. The Blackmurs plan to take their motor home east and travel up the coast. Next year, they are planning to take a cruise. / photo by Reina Santa Cruz
Bill and Barbara Blackmur both retired in July. Bill worked for the University of La Verne as a telecommunications manager for 10 years. He would purchase, install and maintain telephone switches. Barbara was an administrative assistant I for the School of Continuing Education and worked at ULV for seven years. She enters new students’ information and student files into the Banner System. The Blackmurs plan to take their motor home east and travel up the coast. Next year, they are planning to take a cruise. / photo by Reina Santa Cruz

Yelena Ovcharenko
Staff Writer

After their retirement this summer from the University of La Verne, William and Barbara Blackmur plan to travel up the east coast. Unlike all of their other one to two week trips, they want to spend several months on the road in their motor home next spring. The Grand Canyon, Lake Tahoe, Missouri and Florida are definite checkpoints along their way. After hitting Florida, the couple plans to go all the way up the east coast.

“We never really got to travel all that much,” said Bill Blackmur, former manager of the office of information technology.

To accommodate their retirement, the couple recently bought a five acre estate in Oak Hills.

The Blackmurs admit that they have not quite adjusted to their retirement. Bill says that on some mornings he gets up and feels as if he has to go to work.

Even though they have not quite adjusted to retirement, the couple is taking advantage of the free time they have together. Lunches at Newport Beach have become occasional events.

Surprisingly this is Bill’s second retirement. In 1989 Bill retired from the General Telephone Company after working there for 30 years. He then became a contractor at ULV and has worked for the University since then.

When Bill started at the University there was one main telephone switch. Now there are four large switches and eight smaller switches. A large switch has about 800 telephone lines.

Several years ago Bill was asked to be the manager in the office of information technology and he accepted the invitation.

Bill’s former supervisor Clive Houston-Brown, chief information officer, described Bill as hardworking, jovial and happy.

Bill is most notable for keeping a 17-year-old telephone switch alive.

Houston-Brown says that the department has not found a replacement for Bill and if they do not find anybody to fill the slot, they may ask Bill to come back on a contract.

“He always had a smile for people,” Houston-Brown said.

Barbara worked as an administrative assistant in the School of Continuing Education in Upland. She started working for ULV about a year and a half after Bill did.

Barbara’s decision to retire was a shock to her department since they only got two-weeks’ notice.

“She was my right hand,” said Alene Harrison, registrar for DLC and coordinator of SCE teacher education programs for the ULV Upland campus.

SCE provides services to graduate students off campus. Barbara was described as dependable.

While working at SCE Barbara helped with the streamline system.

She organized the off campus student records to maintain continuous contact with them. Barbara also found the best way to keep records of the off campus students and handle their increasing volume.

The SCE Department in Upland did not find a replacement for a month.

“The first month she was gone was really hard,” Harrison said.

Harrison gave Barbara complete control of all programs. Barbara was not only competent in her job, but knew how to assist the other two supervisors as well.

“It was just really a pleasure to have her in our department. She was a real team player,” Harrison said.

Barbara was dedicated to serving students and will be missed at her department.

Even though the Blackmurs have lived in their new house for about five years, the couple never had time to do anything around the house. Now with the extra time, they plan to get into gardening.

The Blackmurs are still seen around La Verne. They occasionally come down to see their granddaughter’s volleyball games at ULV and Bill still gets his haircut from his barber in La Verne.

Yelena Ovcharenko can be reached at yovcharenko@ulv.edu.

Yelena Ovcharenko, Web Editor
Yelena Ovcharenko
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