A Dance, A Lifelong Romance and A Legacy in Scholarships

Arthur Dickerson ’50 and Barbara Revell’s ’51 story began on a dance floor at SDSU. He was a young G.I., and she nearly skipped the dance.

“Barbara was recovering from surgery. My oldest sister, Donna, said, ‘Come on, let’s go to the dance; you have to get out of this depression,’” recalled Barbara’s younger sister, Marilyn DeLong ’61.

Although Barbara was dating someone at the time, she accepted Arthur’s request for a dance. “He swept her off her feet. Barbara would tell the story that while they were dancing, he stopped in the middle of the dance floor—the music was still going—and he walked all the way around her. They went back to dancing,” Marilyn said. “From that moment on, it was serious.”

In fact, the next morning, Arthur showed up at the United Methodist Church where Barbara sang in the choir, and he met her family. 

From Marilyn’s perspective as Barbara’s 11-year-old little sister at the time, Arthur was quite the romantic. “It was like a Hollywood love story.”

While Arthur was courting Barbara, he was intentional about getting to know all the Revells. “It was like he adopted our entire family. He was always interested in what we younger Revells did and really enjoyed watching us grow up,” Marilyn explained. As they matured into adulthood, she and her siblings appreciated Arthur and Barbara for their advice. “They didn’t have children, so the younger Revells became their children. They were always giving us friendly advice.”

Seventy years after their courtship began, SDSU became the beneficiary of one of the largest estate gifts in its history.

Soon after Barbara passed away on Christmas Day 2019, her siblings learned that she and her late husband, Arthur, had left a significant portion of their estate to benefit SDSU. It included $2.6 million for scholarships, making it the second-largest scholarship endowment ever created at the university. The Alumni Association and South Dakota Art Museum were also beneficiaries of the estate.

The Revell Dickerson scholarship endowment focuses on students with financial need who demonstrate leadership on campus. The first two were awarded in fall 2020.

The Revell family grew up in the heart of the Brookings community. Barbara and Marilyn’s dad, Frank ’23, was a graduate of SDSU, as were his two sons and three of his daughters. In the early years, Frank also taught at the college and in the Aggie School. Frank valued education for his two sons, but he saw education as essential for his five daughters as well. 

“We all seven siblings have college degrees, and all but our youngest attended SDSU. Our blood runs blue and yellow,” Marilyn said.

While their father motivated the Revell children to pursue higher education, their mother, Ruth, instilled in them a strong appreciation for the arts. “Mom belonged to the community art club and was always working on some project,” Marilyn said. 

When the South Dakota Art Museum opened on campus, Ruth became an active volunteer and docent. In their mother’s memory, Marilyn served on the South Dakota Art Museum Advisory Board from 1996 to 2017. She served as president from 2007-2015.

When Arthur and Barbara met, Barbara was pursuing a degree in home economics and Arthur was working toward a degree in mechanical engineering. 

Like many Jackrabbits of the time, the G.I. Bill helped pay for Arthur’s education. Just a few years earlier, at 17 he had left his family home in Huron to join the Air Force with hopes of becoming a pilot. 

Arthur ended up flying missions in WWII as a navigator and belly gunner. His plane was shot down flying over Berlin. He and other crew members parachuted out, surviving the crash to become prisoners of war. “He never talked about being a POW until later in his life,” Marilyn said. 

From what he did share with the family, Arthur weighed only 98 pounds when Russian soldiers rescued the POWs at the end of the war. “He survived in a German prison camp on bread and water.”

Arthur didn’t let the challenges he faced as a POW cast a shadow on his future. When he arrived on campus in 1946 to register for classes, as the story goes, he saw a sign for mechanical engineering, thought the field sounded interesting, and stepped into the registration line.

Arthur’s first job after college was at Cotta Transmission Company in Beloit, Wisconsin. Barbara had one year left on campus, so the two stayed connected through frequent letters. After the couple married in 1951, Barbara joined Arthur and began teaching in a high school nearby. When they moved to St. Paul, Minnesota, Barbara taught high school home economics, and Arthur began his lifelong career at the 3M headquarters. A successful engineer with numerous patents, Arthur also excelled in leadership, serving on the executive team. 

Together, the couple immersed themselves in the art and culture of the Twin Cities, enjoying the Minnesota Orchestra, Guthrie Theater and Minneapolis Institute of Art. 

Loyal to the university that brought them together, Arthur and Barbara were actively involved in the Twin Cities SDSU Alumni Group. They frequently returned to campus to celebrate Hobo Day. Arthur served as president of the SDSU Alumni Council and in 1982 was recognized as a Distinguished Alumnus.

After 54 years of marriage, Arthur died in 2005; Barbara passed away 14 years later. That first dance and lifelong romance that began at South Dakota State led to the establishment of one of the largest scholarship endowments that will exist in perpetuity. 

-Lura Roti ’02/M.M.C. ’20