March 7, 2008

BERKELEY - Robert Winship Witter Sr., among the lead donors in the 1995 completion of Witter Rugby Field at the University of California, a major benefactor to the Cal rugby program and one of 14 Witters to play rugby for the Golden Bears, died March 6 in Sacramento at the age of 78.

Known to family and friends as Bob, Robert W. Witter was born Oct. 11, 1929, in Berkeley to Edwin and Florence Witter. Bob and his older brother, Edwin Jr., were raised on a farm until 1933, when the family moved permanently to Sacramento.

Mr. Witter attended Grant Union High School, where he played baseball and earned All-City honors as a football tackle, graduating in 1947. Bob then attended Cal, where he received his economics degree in 1951, following in the footsteps of generations of Witters including uncle Dean, a 1909 Cal graduate who in 1924 co-founded the investment brokerage firm Dean Witter & Co. with Bob's father and other family members.

Bob played football as well as rugby for Cal, going to three Rose Bowls as a backup and earning three varsity letters in rugby. He suited up with several cousins and started as a lock forward for rugby head coach Miles "Doc" Hudson, touring with the Bears to Vancouver to play the University of British Columbia in the "World Cup" series. He and his brother were also members of the Zeta Psi Fraternity.

In the book "Pappy's Boys," which details the heyday of Cal football under Lynn "Pappy" Waldorf, Bob wrote, "Coming to Cal as a 17-year-old freshman in 1947 was an awesome experience for me. Cal seemed filled with veterans from World War II, in their early or mid twenties. Full grown men! As a young athlete I was terribly intimidated... Fighter pilots and flame thrower marines from Iwo Jima were my fraternity brothers! My cousin [Jean] had been killed on the SS San Francisco off Guadalcanal."

After graduation, Witter served with the Infantry in Korea as a field artillery forward observer, fighting at Pork Chop Hill. He was awarded the Bronze Star upon his return from action. An avid hunter, competition trap shooter and outdoorsman, Witter tried sheep farming for two years before joining the firm in 1955.

Bob and Marilyn, his wife of 49 years, have been benefactors to many causes - from the American Red Cross, where Bob was a member of the Sacramento Disaster Corps, to the Sacramento Little League and the Golden Empire Council of the Boy Scouts of America - but Bob's most passionate support was reserved for Cal rugby.

A small fund for the team that began in the 1970s to honor Bob's cousin George received a new injection of capital in 1985, when another cousin who played rugby at Cal, Tom Witter, created the modern-day Witter Rugby Endowment with a matching gift and a campaign called Cal Rugby Forever. Bob ratcheted up his participation in the late-'80s when he became the first and only chairman of the California Rugby Advisory Board.

Under Bob's leadership, the endowment grew tenfold. Witter received the Trustee Citation from the UC Alumni Association in 1988 and in 1992 he was named president of Pappy's Boys.

While the Witter Rugby Endowment continued to develop the sport's ability to be financially self-sufficient at Cal, Bob helped to spearhead a separate campaign that culminated in the early '90s. The Witter family and other stakeholders raised funds for the renovation of an area in Strawberry Canyon across from Memorial Stadium that resulted in a dedicated rugby pitch for the Golden Bears.

Witter Rugby Field immediately became the home and centerpiece for Cal rugby, a lush and well-manicured facility overlooking San Francisco Bay that offers seating for thousands of fans to enjoy the game while providing an ideal playing surface for the Bear ruggers. Now in its 13th year, it remains a premier venue for American collegiate rugby.

Mr. Witter never missed a match at home or on the road until his health declined in recent seasons.

"In Bob's passing, Cal rugby loses its greatest, most loyal supporter and cherished friend," said head coach Jack Clark. "Scores of former players are checking in and circling the wagons in Bob's honor. We are blessed for having him in our lives."

Robert W. Witter is survived by his brother, Ed Jr.; wife, Marilyn; son Robert Jr. and his wife, Judy; son Richard and his wife, Evelyn; and three grandchildren, including current Cal rugger David Witter. Both of Bob's sons are also Cal graduates.

A memorial service will be held at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 11, at the Arden Hills Resort Club in Sacramento, located at 1220 Arden Hills Lane (off Fair Oaks Blvd. near Mission Ave.).