Westmont Magazine Farewell Faithful Servant
Amidst tears for their loss and joy for his life and resurrection, family and friends of David Allan Hubbard ’49 celebrated his 68 years at a memorial service six days after his death on June 7. Held at Montecito Covenant, the Santa Barbara church he once served as founding pastor, the ceremony brought together people from Westmont, where he studied and taught, and Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California, which he led for 30 years as president.
One by one, relatives, friends, and former students stood up to praise him. They mentioned his brilliance, his humility, his focus on the needs and concerns of others, and his tenderness. An “incomparable” teacher and “leader loyal to the truth,” Dr. Hubbard left a lasting legacy in the lives of those gathered. Friends shared Scripture and even quoted Shakespeare: “He was a man, take him for all in all, I shall not look upon his like again.”
After graduating from Westmont, he earned bachelor of divinity and master of theology degrees from Fuller. Dr. Hubbard completed a Ph.D. in Old Testament studies at St. Andrews University in Scotland and joined the Westmont faculty in 1957.
At the young age of 35, he assumed the presidency of Fuller and during the next 30 years presided over its transformation into the largest multidenominational seminary in the world. The institution expanded to include not only the original School of Theology, but also a School of Psychology and a School of World Mission.
“David Allan Hubbard . . . took evangelical theological scholarship into a position of leadership in the larger world of higher education,” says Richard J. Mouw, who succeeded him as president when he retired in 1993.
Despite the demands of his position, Dr. Hubbard continued to teach and stay active as a premier Old Testa-ment scholar and writer. He published 36 books, including “Psalms for All Seasons” and “The Practice of Prayer.”
The author of four Old Testament commentaries, he served as a general editor of the Word Biblical Commen-tary Series. An ordained minister in the American Baptist Churches of the USA, he hosted “The Joyful Sound” international radio broadcast.
Survivors include his wife, Ruth; a daughter Mary (director of alumni and parent relations at Westmont) and son-in-law Dr. Dean Given; grandsons David and Jeffrey, brothers John and Robert, and a sister, Laura Smith.
A life so rich and significant deserves more than just words of printed praise. Thankfully, the thousands who knew and loved him will serve as his living memorials.