Jim Huchthausen

Jim is the nephew of Captain Walter Huchthausen who was the lone Monuments Men’s officers who was killed before the end of World War II. Jim received a bachelor’s degree from Cal Lutheran University and a master’s degree from Cal State University Northridge in history and political science. He served for two years in the U.S. Navy in Vietnam. Upon returning to the states in 1969, he began his teaching career in Southern California. Jim taught American history, political science, and international relations at College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita and retired in 2000, after 35 years in education.

In the 1980s, Jim was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to study in Perugia, Italy. He also studied in Shanghai, China on a Department of Education grant. Jim spent the summer of 1989 as a member of a human rights delegation in Nicaragua during the Contra War. He played basketball and baseball at Cal Lutheran University and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2008. He and his wife, Thelma, retired on the Central Coast and reside in Nipomo.