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 When
the Willamette community heard that its beloved “Mr. Willamette,”
also known as Richard “Buzz” Yocom ’49, had passed
away on Nov. 22, 2003, the stories began pouring into the Office
of Alumni Relations. The office was in charge of planning a memorial
service to this longtime alumnae, friend, professor and administrator
who had spent more than 40 years at Willamette. Friends and family
packed into Cone Chapel on Dec. 7 to celebrate Buzz Yocom’s
life and to hear a cross-section of anecdotes submitted by alumni
and friends. Here is a sampling of memories that capture Mr. Willamette’s
character and spirit.
“My recollections of Buzz go back to his days as a student
and even then, he exhibited the thirst for knowledge and spirit
of life that make him so unique. You see,
Willamette was the fourth child in the family of Buzz and Libby
and the care they so carefully gave at home to their
children was just as freely given to the University.”
– Mark O. Hatfield ’43
“Buzz can legitimately take full responsibility for my having
completed my B.A. degree at Willamette. In mid-February of my senior
year, less than three months away from graduating, I left Willamette
in a bit of a huff frustrated by the fact that men could live off
campus, but women couldn’t unless they had a doctor’s
note stating that they needed to live off campus for health reasons.
… Buzz tracked me down and to this day I am not sure how he
did this. I learned a lot that day on the phone about Buzz’s
ability to care about individual students and his commitment to
reaching out to students in the midst of their young adult dilemmas
and angst. He found a very powerful
way to let me know I was important as an individual.”
– Linda Forrest ’71
 “I
went to the United States on an overseas study stay at Willamette
University, and Professor Yocom was the first professor I met in
America. Immediately after the beginning of my first term at college,
I was hit by a car and had to stay in the hospital. I’ll
never forget the kindness he showed in visiting me in the hospital
everyday. I couldn’t help smiling in my sorry
predicament as he explained that I had been ‘the first Japanese
student ever to have had a traffic accident.’”
– Taji Tsukasa ’78
“While on tour of colleges in Oregon and Washington, I visited
Willamette and Buzz gave me a personalized tour after telling my
mother and brothers to find something else to do. That day, as we
walked through dorms and classrooms, he spoke to me like a thinking
adult – one of the first people in my life to do so –
answering my many questions adeptly. He made a very positive impression
on me that day for his honesty, sense of humor and graciousness.
Willamette was the only college to
which I applied, probably because Buzz made me feel that there was
no other place I’d want to be.”
– Jack LeMenager ’74
“In 1962 I arrived at Willamette University from a very small
town near the Oregon coast. The idea of studying had not occurred
to me resulting in a .9 g.p.a. my first semester. I was ‘invited’
to meet with Mr. Yocom to explain why I should be allowed to continue
my ‘education’ at WU. After
listening to my excuses, he commented that perhaps I was a big wheel
in a small high school, but at WU I was just a hubcap.
That observation has stayed with me since.”
– Roger Weed ’66
“Buzz was one of the people
who asked tough questions, pushed us to make the
idea stronger and helped us think through possibilities for the
Bistro. He is also the one who demanded that a peanut butter and
chocolate ‘thing’ be created for him – thus the
famous ‘Buzz Bar’.”
– Eric Fridenwald-Fishman ’88
“I will never forget taking Psychology 101 as a freshman
from him – first because of the extreme ‘buzz’
on campus about the class and what great sex lectures he gave. To
enter the class on the first day of those sex lectures was amazing.
Not only were the regular students in the class there, primed to
take perfect notes, but it seemed another 40 to 50 students from
who knows where were in the class sitting in the aisles for what
was expected to come!”
– Ron Jensen ’69, MEd’72
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A Tribute to Mr.
Willamette
Richard “Buzz” Yocom ’49
believed experiencing various world cultures was an important
part of a student’s educational experience. In fact,
he played a large role in building Willamette’s relationship
with Tokyo International University (TIU) and establishing
TIU’s American campus, across the street from Willamette.
In honor of Yocom’s service to Willamette and his passion
for international studies, Melvin Henderson-Rubio ’74
established the Richard and Elizabeth Yocom International
Studies Scholarship Fund in 1991 at Yocom’s retirement.
This scholarship is awarded annually to Willamette students
who need support to study overseas or foreign students who
need assistance while studying at Willamette. Each year this
scholarship makes it possible for a handful of students to
participate in the overseas study experience.
Alumni who wish to remember Richard “Buzz”
Yocom ’49 through this scholarship fund may send gifts
to Willamette University, Development Office, 900 State St.,
Salem, OR 97301 or may make a donation online at www.willamette.edu/support.
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