Edwin L. Biggers was a man of ambition, generosity and love, his colleagues, friends and family said. The former chair of the Pepperdine Board of Regents for fifteen years, Biggers died after a sudden heart attack during an afternoon walk March 1, according to the Obituary of Edwin L. Biggers.
“Throughout his decades of service to and support of Pepperdine, Ed and his family have deeply demonstrated their faith through their generosity to some of the University’s most critical initiatives,” President Jim Gash wrote in a March 6 email from the Public Relations Office. “I will miss Ed and will continue to pray for Paula [Biggers’ wife] and the entire Biggers family as they navigate the challenging waters of Ed’s unexpected passing.”
Biggers demonstrated his ambition and intelligence through his impressive career. After earning a place at the Naval Academy in Annapolis and graduating in 1957, Biggers served in the U.S. Air Force as a second lieutenant, according to the Obituary of Edwin L. Biggers.
Earning a master’s of science fellowship to study postgraduate engineering at UCLA and receiving a graduate degree from the executive program of the UCLA Anderson School of Management, Biggers enjoyed an accomplished career as an aeronautical engineer with Hughes Aircraft. He even became the president of the Missile System Group at Hughes, according to his obituary.
Biggers also spent six years as a member of the Defense Science Board, advising the United States Secretary of Defense. He advocated that the best national offense is a strong defense, according to his obituary.
After retiring in 1994, Biggers devoted himself to a life of service and philanthropy. Biggers joined the Pepperdine Board of Regents in 1989 and served as its chair from 2004 to 2019, according to the Pepperdine Public Relations Office.
“Throughout my long career at Pepperdine, I can think of no other Board member who has had a greater impact for good on this institution than Ed Biggers,” said Sara Young Jackson, Chancellor of Pepperdine University. “After his impressive professional career, Ed dedicated his life to contributing his extensive talents and resources to the cause of Christian education.”
Biggers supported and assisted countless Pepperdine initiatives such as Harbor: The Pepperdine Bible Lectures, the Boone Center for the Family, the Church Leaders Council, Pepperdine Legacy Partners, the President’s Excellence Fund and the Edwin and Joan Biggers Endowed Scholarship for Seaver College students, according to the Public Relations Office.
“Very few individuals have been dedicated to Pepperdine’s Christian mission, its students and its advancement the way Ed Biggers has,” Gash wrote.
This dedication to Pepperdine was fueled by Biggers’ faith and generosity, according to his colleagues.
“Ed’s deepest passion was his devotion to Christ; faith motivated all that he did,” Jackson said. “He was one of the most generous men I have ever known. Ed often stated his conviction that he was merely a steward of the financial resources with which God had blessed him. The Biggers family name can be seen across our campuses as evidence of Ed’s and his wife Paula’s generosity.”
Indeed, the support and commitment of the Biggers is symbolized across the Malibu campus at the Edwin and Paula Fong Biggers Tower at Seaside Residence Hall, the Biggers Family Courtyard and the soon-to-be Biggers Family Student Recreation Room at the Mountain at Mullin Park, according to the Pepperdine Public Relations Office.
Also, the Château d’Hauteville campus in Switzerland includes The Edwin and Paula Fong Biggers Great Room, another lasting mark of the Biggers’ generosity, according to the Pepperdine Public Relations Office.
“With the scripture ‘It is better to give than receive’ as a personal motto, one of the greatest joys of Ed’s life was being abundantly generous with his time, wisdom, energy and resources,” according to the Obituary of Edwin L. Biggers. “He was a mighty example of living a life true to the calling he had received.”
Passionate about positively contributing to the lives of young people, Biggers used Pepperdine University, the alma mater of his children, stepchildren and grandson, to channel his serving heart, according to his obituary.
His service did not stop there. Throughout his life, Biggers was an active member in many organizations, including the Industrial Advisory Group at the University of Arizona School of Engineering, Pusch Ridge Christian Academy Governing Board, Catalina Foothills Church Schools Board, Tucson Young Life Metro Committee and Habitat for Humanity Tucson Advisory Council, according to the Pepperdine Public Relations Office.
Additionally, Biggers was the chairman and president of Advanced Ceramics Manufacturing in Tucson and served as an elder at the city’s Mountain Avenue Church of Christ, according to the Pepperdine Public Relations Office.
Biggers was born in Martinez, California, in 1935, raised in Fresno, California, with his brothers, Bob and Dave, and settled in Los Angeles before relocating to Tucson, Arizona, according to his obituary. His obituary said that Biggers enthusiastically loved his family and life itself.
In essence, Biggers demonstrated a life of high achievement but also immense generosity and love for life, his colleagues, friends and family said.
“He had a brilliant mind and a huge heart which he devoted to his decades of service to Pepperdine,” Jackson said. “I will miss Ed Biggers, and I thank God for all that he has meant to me personally and to the University he so dearly loved.”
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Email Madeline Del Rio: madeline.delrio@pepperdine.edu
