Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/701910
H E A RT B E AT S torrancememorial.org PULSE | 39 "WHEN THE OPPORTUNITY PRESENTED ITSELF TO NAME THE EAST WING, I WAS VERY HAPPY TO DO WHAT I BELIEVED WAS MY RESPONSIBILITY AS A COMMUNITY MEMBER." W hen O. Allen Alpay was a boy, his father would regularly ask if he could borrow back $20 he had previously paid him as allowance. His father would later return the money to Alpay, plus 100% interest. "I thought he was running out of money, but he was setting an example about how money should be used and put to work," Alpay says. "I was very lucky to have great parents. ey taught me to strive to be the best in everything—from education to life in general. I was raised to be independent, as well as self-sufficient. Alpay's father assigned him odd jobs, such as changing the antifreeze in the family car. As a result, Alpay learned what he calls a "must" for success in life—how to be a "doer." He did everything he could to earn extra money, from bussing tables on Coney Island to waiting at the gates of canneries in Sunnyvale, Calif., at 6 a.m. to pick up work during summer breaks in college. Today at 81, Alpay is redirecting that work ethic toward a new priority—giving back to his community. In December of 2015, Torrance Memorial Medical Center announced a $10 million gi by Alpay to name the O. Allen Alpay East Wing, which houses Torrance Memorial's Emergency Department and Labor and Delivery unit. "On many occasions, I and members of our family have used the services of Torrance Memorial. We are always very impressed with the care we receive— especially from the nursing staff," Alpay says. "When the opportunity presented itself to name the East Wing, I was very happy to do what I believed was my responsibility as a community member. Each day the East Wing celebrates the birth of a whole new set of lives in the Labor and Delivery unit, while saving many others in its Emergency Department. A donation to this world-class organization seemed to be the right thing to do." Alpay has always had a keen sense for the next right thing to do. He focused on creating success one step at a time and excelled at virtually every subject in school, including art and architecture. "All of my teachers thought I'd go to med school. I was good in science, but I couldn't stand the sight of blood," he says. Upon graduation, he followed in the footsteps of his father, a Stanford University-educated engineer, and set out for the University of Texas in Austin to pursue a degree in engineering. Alpay won a scholarship to make his emphasis petroleum engineering and geology, as the prominence of oil exploration grew in the 1950s. He earned a Ph.D. from Purdue and worked as a summer intern at Standard Oil's oil production research affiliate, Pan American Petroleum in Tulsa, Okla. Upon graduation, he joined the company as a senior research engineer. In the '50s aer World War II, oil was the future of exploration. "e high degree of sophistication in every aspect of the technology, from exploration and drilling to production and refining, was mind-boggling," he says. During the 1970s, though, Alpay realized that computers, not oil, were going to be the future, so he moved to California to pursue a degree in computer sciences. He joined THUMS (a consortium of the five major oil companies: Texaco, Humble, Union, Mobil and Shell), which was tasked with the development and operation of oil deposits lying off the coast of Long Beach. As his career progressed, Alpay never lost his love of art. He painted in his spare time, which lead to his romantic fate. As a young engineer in Tulsa, he met a teacher named Beverly, who he instantly recognized as a no-nonsense girl. A clincher was when Beverly, an art enthusiast, took him for a serious artist, seeing influences of the cubist, Pablo Picasso, in one of his paintings. Following Alpay's move to California, Beverly came out to care for him as he recovered from a thyroid operation. "When I awoke from surgery Beverly's face was the first I saw," Alpay says. "at's when I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her." Beverly continued her career as an eighth-grade English teacher at Dapplegray Intermediate School. She later became a school administrator for the Palos Verdes Unified School District and volunteered at the Art Center for nearly a decade, where she served as president and chair of the board. In 1996, she received the Medici Award, the Art Center's highest honor. More than a decade aer her premature passing, Alpay made a $2 million donation to name it the Beverly G. Alpay Center for Arts Education. Alpay began investing in various real estate ventures in California and Texas, which became a full-time endeavor. Always self-effacing, Alpay says, "I'm basically a glorified janitor." However his companion today, Ruth Anne (known as Ruthie), also a widow and a former teacher, begs to differ, noting that Alpay's involvement in his business affairs runs much deeper. Aer rising at 4 a.m. daily for a three-mile walk, "He works like he is still 40." With friends, family and their community in mind, the couple is intent on leaving something greater behind. "is gi is the legacy for which I would most like to be remembered. It also serves to honor my late wife Beverly who exemplified what volunteerism and service to the community is all about," Alpay says. "I hope it will inspire and motivate others to step up and do what they can to give back to their community in any way they can."