On Friday, April 9, 2021, Alan Mann Weatherford, passed away peacefully at his home in Arroyo Grande after a lengthy battle with cancer.  He was 74.  Alan was born in Lake Charles, Louisiana to Clester and Nell (Birdsong) Weatherford.  He is survived by his two children, twins William and Victoria, and his older brother Sidney.  He retired in 2007 from teaching Finance in the Orfalea College of Business at California Polytechnic State University, where he maintained a passable 2.04/4.0 student rating on polyratings.com.  One anonymous student encapsulated Professor Weatherford thus: “If you like a prof with a dry sense of humor and a good amount of sarcasm, you'll probably be ok with Weatherford, despite the fact that he tries very hard at times to be an a**, and succeeds.”  Other students noted his fondness for Diet Coke, “chicken scratch” handwriting, and his “old, old, old school Hawaiian shirts.”  All true.

Alan graduated from Sulphur High School in Sulphur Louisiana, where he was voted “Most Handsome” and “Senior Favorite,” and was captain of the football team among other school activities.  Alan received a scholarship to play football at Louisiana Tech in Ruston, Louisiana, where he played center and long snapper for Terry Bradshaw and Phil Robertson (of Duck Dynasty fame).  Alan transferred to Tampa University on another football scholarship, and played long snapper and center for quarterback Jim Del Gaizo.

Alan completed his undergraduate studies at Louisiana State University, earning a B.A. in History.  He started law school at LSU, but after a year changed course and joined the Air Force as a Second Lieutenant, serving as a navigator aboard a KC-135 tanker. He flew numerous missions out of Barksdale Air Force Base in Shreveport, Louisiana.

After completing his military service, Alan obtained his RN license (Registered Nurse) specializing in Emergency Room nursing.  While working as an RN he earned, in his spare time, a Master’s Degree in Business and a Ph.D. in Finance at the University of Texas at Dallas.  Somewhere in all this Alan spent a year as a “roadie” for a band in New Orleans.  After earning his Ph.D., Alan headed west to begin his nearly thirty-year career at Cal Poly.  He came to spend one month each year in Budapest, Hungary, after he enjoyed a teaching sabbatical at the University of Debrecen.

“Big Al” was incredibly popular, friendly, and likable.  He had the best hair.  Besides Diet Coke, Alan loved playing in poker tournaments and spending time with his buds at the Pismo Beach Athletic Club where for years he was an avid “spinner.”  In later years, he “worked out” in the sauna.  Despite his social nature, however, Alan was an intensely private person.  He also enjoyed building computers, listening to books on tape while driving absurdly long distances, and attempting every now and then to learn to play guitar and piano.  His joy through the years was his two children, and he was never shy about trumpeting their latest accomplishments to anyone who would listen.

A celebration of Alan’s life will be held in the coming months in the San Luis Obispo area. He will be interred at Arlington National Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, gifts be made in Alan’s honor to the Mission Hope Cancer Center at https://www.supportmarianmedical.org/blackbaud-created-pages/mission-hope-donate-online