Winthrop H. Segur, Jr. G’65 died on November 9, 2019, in Rancho Mirage, California.

(The following was published in The Desert Sun on November 26, 2019:)

In the mid-afternoon of November 9, 2019, Winthrop Hubbard “Hub” Segur broke free from his Alzheimer’s prison where he’d lived for more than 10 years. His struggle was complicated by a recent fall and surgery. While the disease progressively robbed him of his memory; his ability to read and communicate; and his mobility, it did not diminish his curiosity, his joy at being with people, his sense of humor, or his love of music. His blue eyes touched hearts until he took his last breath, which he did with those eyes open.

Hub was born in 1936 to Aletha and Win Segur. He grew up in Wethersfield, CT where his family had roots dating back to the 1600’s. After graduating from high school and a brief stint in the Army, he earned a BS in math from Trinity College, and a MA in math from Bowdoin College.

Hub taught at Tabor Academy before moving to California in 1961 to teach at The Thacher School in Ojai. From 1969 to 1973 he was active in the United Farm Workers where he worked as an organizer and researcher. Upon leaving there, he earned his MS in Economics and ultimately his PhD at UC, Davis. His dissertation was entitled “Representation Elections for Farm Workers: Voting Power Under Alternative Rules of Eligibility”. Hub taught at the University of the Pacific and at California State University, Chico. In the early 1980s Hub served as a consultant to the UFW, helping to build a defense against three major lawsuits filed by growers against the union. In 1987, he returned to the UFW as full time staff economist.

In 1989, Hub was appointed Associate Professor for Whitehead College at the University of Redlands and shortly thereafter he became department chair. He was one of the first faculty from Whitehead College to receive tenure. He relinquished the chair position after having participated in development of the Cambridge Study Abroad Program and the Whitehead Leadership Society, programs specifically for the part-time adult learners served by the College. He continued to teach Labor Relations, undergraduate and graduate micro, macro, and international economics. During this period, he served as faculty liaison and adjunct faculty mentor in the Professional Studies Program at Menlo College where he also taught economics and co-taught a civil rights history course.

After his retirement, he was awarded Professor Emeritus status at the University of Redlands. In 2007, he joined a group of volunteers who went to Louisiana to help with post-Katrina rebuilding.

Hub was known professionally for his thoughtful and thorough work, the quality of his research and data gathering, his dedication to his students and colleagues, and his role as teacher/coach. He enjoyed a good laugh, a juicy hamburger and a cold beer, baseball, cars, and golf/tennis/running. He was curious, gentle, articulate, and non-judgmental. Hub only affiliated himself with organizations whose values aligned with his commitment to justice and fairness.

Hub was blessed with the opportunity to attend Eisenhower Memory Day Care Center for almost 4 years. Under the capable and loving hands of the staff he was happy, mobile, and well-cared for. As his disease progressed, and his needs grew he became a resident of Vista Cove Residential Memory Care in Rancho Mirage, CA, where he died. It is with grateful hearts that we thank those who provided comfort, friendship, and joy to us both as we traveled this tragic path.

Hub remains in the hearts of his wife, Vivian; two mournful cats, Skippy and Missy Ridgeway; and those whose lives he touched. He was preceded in death by his parents, Althea and Winthrop Hubbard Segur Sr., his sister Jo, and his in-laws, Helene and Leonard Lauer.