Skip to main content
Glen Egstrom
In Memoriam

Glen Egstrom

Professor Emeritus of Kinesiology

UC Los Angeles
1928-2019
Glen was born in Jamestown, ND, and met his wife, Donna Wehmhoefer, at the University of North Dakota over 70 years ago. Glen served with the Army and Air Force in Korea and he was honorably discharged in 1965 with the rank of Major.

In 1964, he became a professor in the Kinesiology Department at UCLA and served as the Campus Diving Officer at UCLA from 1964 to 1992. As UCLA Dive Officer, he taught hundreds of students to dive safely. In this role, he evaluated diving gear, emergency procedures and training methods. He also served as Director of the Underwater Kinesiology Laboratory. As director, he served as the Principal Investigator for the Diving Safety Research Project and other aquatic safety studies. The Driving Safety Research Project followed the development of underwater work measurement techniques over a period of several years. He served as the principal investigator of UCLA's Diving Safety Research Project for an impressive 34 years.  In addition to working as a professor he also became an L.A. County Underwater Instructor and in 1966 a National Association of Underwater Instructor. He served as president of each organization. Glen was also a Captain in the LA County Sheriff Emergency Services Detail for 28 years until retirement in 1998. This training allowed him to become a top expert witness in dive-related cases.

Glen spent over 10,000 hours underwater, all over the world, teaching, testing equipment, researching and bringing home dinner. It gave him great joy to share the catch of the day. Many former students have remarked about how he changed their lives. In 1974, Glen became involved with a group of divers who created the Our World Underwater Scholarship Society. This scholarship allowed students to travel internationally and learn from professionals in the underwater field.  

He is survived by his wife, Donna, children Gail (Dr. Michael Clarke), Eric "Buck" and Karen, and granddaughters Emilie and Kobie Clarke. Numerous others adopted Glen and Donna over the years. Many will miss those sparkling blue eyes and great smile. 

Dr. Rachelle Crosbie