Marjorie Lindsey, a long-time generous supporter of Bakersfield College, recently passed away, but she didn’t do so without leaving her legacy at BC.

Marjorie passed away on Oct. 24 at the age of 98.

“She is a very lovely southern gentlewoman. Very soft spoken. Always beautifully groomed in pastels and is very well-educated. She’s been our angel,” said archives director Jerry Ludeke.

Marjorie and her husband, Bud Lindsey, donated their time and money to BC and the Bakersfield community.

They put up money for scholarships for students and much more for BC. They have supported places such as California Living Museum and The Boys and Girls Club in the Bakersfield community.

“The Lindseys were always very low key in their giving; it was not about them but rather about the non-profit causes to which they so generously contributed,” said Ludeke.

In the ’70s, Marjorie was part of a group of women who would take Clayton Rippey’s painting classes. This was around the time when John Collins was the president of BC. During this time, Coca-Cola was the only company that had soft drinks on campus, but the Lindseys held distributorship for Pepsi. Bud suggested to Collins that they should put the campus concessions out to bid, so Collins did so. Pepsi ended up winning the bid, and this was the start of the Lindseys’ support of BC.
BC and the Archives wanted to honor the Lindseys with something at BC.

Ludeke explained that most of the time people are honored after they have died, but the Lindseys were honored before they had passed. They were honored by the naming of Lindsey Grove, where there are two benches in front of the library.

The Archives installed a plaque in the Lindsey Grove. Marjorie did not want the plaque to be about her and her husband, so she decided to put something that didn’t relate to them.

The plaque reads, “Dedicated to all Bakersfield College faculty and staff who since 1913 have given the gift of education to the people of Kern County, to the thousands of students who give meaning and purpose to everything that takes place on this campus, and to all who have given their time and talents to help BC flourish.”

Ludeke explained that Marjorie’s generosity was just a part of who she was.

When asked if Marjorie ever discussed her reasoning for being generous to BC, Ludeke said, “She was very strong in her Christian faith, and she felt that those to whom much have been given much was expected.”