Gus Van Sant, Sr.

Gus Van Sant Sr. died Jan. 13, 2022. He was born in Mayfield, KY, March 23, 1927 to the late Dorothy Van Sant. (The Dorothy G. Van Sant Memorial Endowed Award was established at Otterbein.)

He was a Senate page in 1943 preparing the chamber for Senate hearings and a special events coordinator for Eleanor Roosevelt. He then enlisted in the Navy at 17 years old in 1945. Gus married his high school sweetheart, Betty Seay, and became a traveling salesman selling menswear in the 50’s. He made his way to regional manager, raising his family in Denver, San Francisco, Chicago and finally New York, where he became the President of the McGregor-Doniger Sportswear, the largest US company in the mid-twentieth century. As an executive, Van Sant made personally designed golf wear with the help of Doug Sanders, Jack Nicklaus, and Bruce Crampton.

Gus is survived by his daughter, Malinda Van Sant who also is in the clothing business, and son Gus Van Sant, Jr. the filmmaker. Along with his wife he was preceded in death by his sister, Joanne Van Sant H’70 an Emeritus Dean at Otterbein.