Doug Hitchen- 
Arroyo Grande High Principal - 
Graduate of Lompoc High School, CA

LHS
 Class of "1947"

Please Feel Free To Leave A Comment Or A Memory 
You Had With Mr. Hitchen~

Douglas Joel Hitchen, 85, of Arroyo Grande, passed away Tuesday, November 30, 2014. 
Doug was born in October, 1929 in Jamestown, North Dakota. He was a graduate
 of Lompoc High School, a graduate of UCSB with a teaching credential in Industrial Arts 
and he received his Masters Degree in Education from Cal Poly. In addition he was a
 U.S. Army veteran. During his 35 year career at Arroyo Grande High School he was a teacher,
 coach, Dean of Boys, Athletic Director, Vice Principal, and for 17 years Principal. Doug was
 named Arroyo Grande Citizen of the Year in 1988. In the same year Arroyo Grande High School 
named its football stadium for him. He was inducted into the Arroyo Grande High School
 Hall of Fame in the inaugural class. Active in the community, Doug was a longtime member 
of the Kiwanis Club of Greater Pismo Beach and had served on the San Luis Obispo County
 Grand Jury. Doug spent many vacations at Bass Lake with his family at their summer home. 
Doug is survived by his wife of 61 years, Karen Melby Hitchen; two sons, Jim and his wife Kathy 
and Jon and his wife Karin all of Arroyo Grande; and four grandchildren: Kevin, Kelsey, Taylor 
and Joel. He was preceded in death by a grandson, Robert Douglas Hitchen in 1996; 
and by his parents Nina and Bill Hitchen, who had been residents of Lompoc. Visitation 
will be from 4:00pm to 6:00pm on Friday, Dec. 5, 2014 at Marshall-Spoo Sunset Funeral 
Chapel in Grover Beach. A Memorial Service will be held at 10:00am on Saturday, December 6, 2014
 at Doug Hitchen Stadium, Arroyo Grande High School. A reception will be held at 2:00pm 
at the South County Regional Center. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the 
Doug Hitchen Scholarship at Arroyo Grande High School, 495 Valley Rd., Arroyo Grande, Calif., 93420