Margaret “Margie” Eberhardt, a generous supporter of University of the Pacific for more than half a century and beloved member of the Stockton community, died Jan. 4 at her home. She was 87. 

Eberhardt attended Pacific in the 1960s and was a member of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority. She met her husband, the late Douglass M. Eberhardt, a former regent and president of Bank of Stockton at Pacific, and the two were married for 57 years. Together, the couple made significant contributions to Pacific, which have had an enduring impact on its students.

In 2007, they established the Eberhardt Student Investment Fund with a $1 million endowment, which has grown to nearly $5 million. The student-managed portfolio not only teaches students how to research and analyze investments, but also the importance of giving back. Students have donated $1.9 million to the university from the portfolio’s dividends.

“Margie and Doug were some of the first people I met in my first year at Pacific and they were a wonderful support system to both me and the school,” said Lewis Gale, dean of the Eberhardt School of Business. “Margie was a consistent presence of kindness and generosity, always in the name of supporting our students. She will be dearly missed.”

Margie Eberhardt volunteered as a board member for the Pacific Alumni Association and as an admissions volunteer in the 1990s. She also volunteered with and supported area nonprofits.

“Margie Eberhardt was a great friend and supporter of Pacific for more than a half-century,” said President Christopher Callahan. “She will be sorely missed, but the legacy she built with the entire Eberhardt family will endure through generations of Eberhardt School of Business students to come.”

The Eberhardt family has a long and rich history at Pacific. Five family members have served as members of the Board of Regents, which oversees the university’s finances, mission and strategic goals. Pacific named the business school after the Eberhardt family in 1997 to honor their many contributions. The Pacific Alumni Association also presented them with the Distinguished Alumni Award for Outstanding Family in 2014.

Margie and Doug Eberhardt’s two children both attended Pacific. Douglass M. Eberhardt II ’89 is CEO of Bank of Stockton and Joan Eberhardt-Snider ’91, ’93, ’95 is a clinical instructor for Pacific’s Speech-Language Pathology program. Margie’s niece, Mary-Elizabeth Eberhardt ’76, is the current chair of the Board of Regents.

Eberhardt is survived by her children and three granddaughters.