It is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of my father, Arthur “Bud” Dandurand, on December 21, 2023, in Campbell, California, after a lengthy battle with dementia.
Bud was born on January 1, 1943, in Indianapolis, Indiana, and raised in Santa Monica, California. A 1960 graduate of Santa Monica High School, from his earliest days Bud exhibited the charm and charisma that earned him his nickname by being everybody’s buddy.
Bud graduated from San Jose State University in 1966 with a Bachelor’s degree in Real Estate and Insurance and went to work right away in the insurance industry, for Mercury Insurance Group. Just a few years later, he formed a business partnership with Fred Baumgarten. Campus Insurance Service was first located right across the street from San Jose State University, on the corner of 4th Street and what is now called the Paseo de San Antonio Walk. Many of our first customers were college students looking for affordable car insurance.
In 1980, Bud and Fred relocated Campus Insurance from downtown San Jose to Stevens Creek Boulevard amidst the car dealerships – a move that proved very successful. I started working for my dad at 16 years old. I attended Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo and at 18 started helping our family business by selling car insurance policies, mostly to other students at Cal Poly.
In 2010 Bud and Fred sold Campus Insurance to Renee and I, and they both fully retired in 2013. In 2018, Bud’s grandson, my son, Michael, started in the business, helping me mostly with technology improvements and back office operations. In 2021, in full circle, Campus Insurance has relocated back to downtown San Jose, in the historic San Pedro Square area, just blocks away from where Campus Insurance was founded.
Following Bud’s retirement and over 40 years at the helm of Campus Insurance, he and his wife Gerri travelled extensively around the world. He was also a keen player of games of all types – not least pub trivia and poker – and was an avid fan of the 49ers, Giants, and A’s. He also was an active member of the Los Gatos Lions Club.
