‘Bud’ Richter, Fresno State benefactor and ‘model of a virtuous life,’ passes away

Dr. Elmer “Bud” Richter, a community giant who served a number of organizations in the Valley, and established the Jan & Bud Richter Center for Community Engagement and Service Learning at Fresno State, passed away on Thursday.

Richter, a longtime supporter of Fresno State athletics, also was on the steering committee for the construction of Bulldog Stadium and participated in its 1980 groundbreaking ceremony and established the Richter Awards for Excellence honoring faculty and staff of the Kremen School of Education and Human Development.

He received the community’s top service honor, the Leon S. Peters Award, in 2006.

“He did things for the joy of doing them well,” said retired Fresno County Superior Court Judge Robert Oliver, who called Richter a mentor for 60-plus years. “We think more about, ‘OK, he was a big Fresno State guy and president of the Bulldog Foundation and the Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame,’ but he did all these other things, like run the City-County All-Star game for years and other activities like that that just had to be done. He did them.

“Bud had a unique ability to look at the big picture but also to look at the small picture. He was a visionary in terms of planning, organizing and executing, but he was a detail person in ensuring that things were done properly, and he would also roll up his sleeves and get his hands dirty.”

Richter was 94 years old, and is survived by his wife of 72 years, Jan; son Brad; granddaughter Renee Vandermeer and her husband, Nick; two great-grandchildren, Matthew and Maci; and brother King.

“Bud, along with Jan, will remain the model of a virtuous life, having mentored and touched so many by their love for community,” said Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval, interim president at Fresno State.

“Bud’s vision furthered the greater good in innumerable ways, and will continue to nurture the values that distinguish us as a Valley. We are fortunate, indeed, to be part of the legacy of Bud and Jan — one that showcases the best of the human spirit.”

Services for Richter are pending, and Jiménez-Sandoval has ordered that Fresno State flags be posted at half-staff on a future date in his honor.

“(He was) a close friend whose kindness and vision made Fresno State and the surrounding community a much better place,” said California State University Chancellor Dr. Joseph I. Castro, a former Fresno State president.

“He and his wife, Jan, inspired, through their extraordinary philanthropy, a focus on community service that is now firmly embedded into the campus’ culture. Jan and the rest of the Richter family are in our prayers during this difficult time.”

Extraordinary philanthropy, focus on community service

Richter joined the family business, Pepsi-Cola Bottling Co., after graduating from Stanford University in 1949 with a degree in economics and accounting, serving in a number of positions including general sales manager and chief executive officer.

After the business, founded as the Richter Bottling Company in 1895, was sold in 1977, Richter turned his focus to the community, serving on the board of directors for a variety of organizations including Community Hospitals of Central California, the Fuller Theological Seminary, the Bank of Coronado and Fresno Bank of Commerce.

In 2007, Richter and his wife pledged $3.5 million to expand a Fresno State program that coordinates and promotes volunteerism among students, faculty and staff. The existing program was renamed the Jan & Bud Richter Center for Community Engagement and Service Learning, after approval from the CSU board of trustees.

“His Christian faith was a huge part of their lives,” Oliver said. “He used that spiritual underpinning provided them with the desire or the calling to do things for others. Whether it was in the world of academics or youth sports or collegiate sports. That’s what they did. And they did it together.

“When they established the Richter Center, they did that in order to provide a vehicle by which college students would learn to understand the virtue and the benefit of service to others.

“With all that Bud and Jan did at Fresno State, they saw that as an opportunity and they were able to plan it and execute on it and it’s a legacy that will outlive all of them and probably all of us.”

The goal then was to contribute 1 million volunteer hours annually. In the past (2019-20) academic year, 17,392 Fresno State students, faculty, and staff members provided 1,271,162 community service hours with an estimated economic value of more than $38.7 million.

“Our parents taught us to try to live by our Lord Jesus Christ’s commandment, ‘Do unto others as you would have them do,’” Richter said, at a fall address by former university president John Welty announcing the donation. “Also, this community has been very good to us … we need to say, ‘thank you.’”

The donation allowed the university program to provide stipends for students leading volunteer projects and mini-grants to professors to make community service projects required parts of their classes.

“If one faculty member is trained how to do a service-learning class, that means 30 or 40 or 50 more students out in the community,” Chris Fiorentino, director of the Richter Center at Fresno State, said in a 2007 article in The Bee. “They might say, ‘The university gets another $3.5 million. Whoop-de-do.’ But the ultimate benefactor is the community.”

The Richters were co-chairs for the university’s first comprehensive fund-raising campaign from 2006-2009, which raised more than $214 million.

“Bud Richter was one of those special people who had a heart of gold, a deep sense of spirituality and cared deeply for people,” Welty said, in a statement from the university.

“He made an imprint on thousands of people. He loved Fresno State and gave countless hours to the university in addition to financial support. The Jan and Bud Richter Center for Community Engagement will forever be a reminder of his commitment to service to improve his community.”

Commitments, including 72-year marriage

Richter also served on the board of directors for The Bulldog Foundation and the university’s Athletic Corporation, the Business Advisory Council for the Craig School of Business and the Fresno State Foundation Board of Governors from 1979 to 2006, when he was awarded emeritus status.

In 2006, Richter was presented with the Leon S. Peters Award that is sponsored by the Greater Fresno Area Chamber of Commerce and recognizes outstanding dedication, commitment and integrity.

Richter, a Roosevelt High graduate, was nominated by Welty and Oliver.

Richter also received an honorary doctorate degree from Fresno State in 1998 and the Bulldog Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002, as well as the Arthur Safstrom Service Award in 2005, and the Fresno State Foundation Award for service in 2006. They established the Richter Awards of Excellence in Education to honor faculty and staff for their service and were also involved in the planning of the Teachers Honor Wall in front of the Education Building on campus.

“Bud was a man of deep faith. Whether it was through small acts of kindness, the way he lived out his marriage to Jan for 72 years, or large acts of philanthropy and stewardship, like endowing the Jan and Bud Richter Center for Community Engagement and Service-Learning, I know it was Bud’s wish that others experience the joy and benefits of giving of their time, talent and treasure,” Fiorentino said, in a statement from the university.

“He will be greatly missed, but his values will live on and be a part of Fresno State for decades to come.”

This story was originally published January 29, 2021 at 1:09 PM.