Louis Bitterlin (Age 88); Pacifist founded San Diego Military Academy

No one believed more strongly than Louis J. Bitterlin in the education provided in a military academy environment. Yet, Mr. Bitterlin, the founding headmaster of the former San Diego Military Academy in Solana Beach, neither served in the military nor attended a military school. “He was a pacifist, a conscientious objector,” said daughter Gretchen Bitterlin of San Diego. “It was a moral decision he made after college.”

The personal philosophy did not detract from his dream, which was to administer an all-boys boarding school that would provide military-style discipline and the highest academic standards. When the San Diego Military Academy opened in 1958, with grades two through 12, Mr. Bitterlin got his wish. He remained headmaster until SDMA closed in 1977, leaving Army and Navy Academy in Carlsbad as the county’s lone military school.

“I’m sorry to see the passing of an era with Lou,” said Phil Klauber, a longtime community leader and former classmate of Mr. Bitterlin’s at Stanford University. “Military academies were very prominent in the San Diego area’s educational scene. It’s a fascinating, valuable history that goes back to 1910.” (Editor’s note:The reference to 1910 was the opening of the San Diego Army and Navy Academy which later became Brown Military Academy.)

In a 1977 interview with The San Diego Union, Mr. Bitterlin said his mission was “not to make soldiers” but to “offer structure and supervision in a controlled environment”. In 1996, he published a booklet, “The Four Academies”, detailing the history of Southern California military schools.

It was at California Military Academy in Los Angeles that he was first exposed to a military-style education. Mr. Bitterlin, who received a master’s degree in political science from Stanford University, taught and coached football, basketball and baseball at the academy.

In the late 1940s, he moved to San Diego and became headmaster at Brown Military Academy at 1800 Garner Avenue. When Brown Military Academy moved to Glendora, Mr. Bitterlin recruited investors to open San Diego Military Academy on 17 acres in the Santa Fe Hills. Over the years, the 200 student school added a two level dormitory. A library was built in 1962, and the graduating class of 1968 built a senior lounge from the ground up. As shareholders were ready to cash in on their original investment, the school was sold for over $1 million in 1977. Santa Fe Christian School now operates on the site.

Mr. Bitterlin lived in Los Angeles as a youth. After settling in San Diego County, he became president in 1964 of the Del Mar Rotary Club and served as a president and board member of the Western Association of Private Schools. His wife Dustine died of breast cancer in 1983. He is survived by daughters Gretchen Bitterlin and Victoria Guidi, and sons Mark Bitterlin, Chris Bitterlin, and Jody Bitterlin all of San Diego; and eight grandchildren.

Louis Bitterlin’s son offered in his Eulogy that “Louis was many things to me, my father, schoolmaster, employer, and my best man when I married 27 years ago. He was a remarkable individual who set the standard for good character, strong moral principles, and good manners. He was a consummate gentleman never allowing a lady to seat herself or open a door. He was big on leadership, but more important, leading by example. His mission was to motivate his students to a higher standard of excellence.

Source: San Diego Union Tribune, Jack Williams (619) 542-4587.

Louis J. Bitterlin, ’37, MA ’49, of San Diego, Calif., January 20, at 88, of complications from a stroke.

He was a political science major and member of Alpha Delta Phi. After teaching and coaching at the California Military Academy in Los Angeles, he became headmaster of Brown Military Academy in Pacific Beach, Calif., and, in 1958, co-founded the San Diego Military Academy in Solana Beach, Calif.

He served as president of the Western Association of Private Schools and published The Four Academies (1996), a history of private military education in San Diego.

Survivors: five children, Victoria Guidi, Gretchen, Mark, Chris and Jody; and eight grandchildren.

Source: Stanford Alumni Association