Eugene Poole Conser was one of UCLA’s first students and
attended the university when it was still located in downtown Los
Angeles.
Conser passed away Sunday in his Laguna Hills home of natural
causes. He was 100.
Born January 30, 1904 in Minnesota, Conser went to the West
Coast with his younger brother, Hugh, in his late teens.
But before attending UCLA, he worked in a lumber camp in Oregon
to raise money to come to California.
“I believe it was just the lure of the West, the openness
and the opportunity that California offered at the time,”
said his son Richard, of Golf, Ill.
When he attended UCLA, Conser was a member of Phi Kappa Psi and
the business manager for UCLA’s newspaper, known then as the
California Grizzly, which involved selling advertisements for the
paper.
Conser took part in changing the UCLA newspaper from a weekly
publication to a daily one by attracting a larger advertiser base,
in part because of his personality.
“When he spoke, people listened,” Richard said.
“He was just widely known and respected wherever he
went.”
Conser met his wife, Helen, at school, and the two married in
1930.
After his time at UCLA, Conser was appointed the managing
director for the Real Estate Research Council to help stabilize the
Depression-era real estate markets.
He later became an executive member of the International Real
Estate Federation.
Even after retiring, Conser was heavily involved with his
retirement community in Laguna Hills and Kiwanis.
Conser is also survived by his daughter, Paula Fancher, of
Sausalito and four grandchildren.
A private service will be held for him.