Richard “Dick” Oliphant, a former mayor of Indian Wells who played a major role in developing some of the Coachella Valley’s main schools, neighborhoods and high-profile venues like the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, died this week. He was 92.
Oliphant, who recently told some of his colleagues of his entry into hospice care, died at his home surrounded by family on Monday, July 13, according to his son, Wesley.
Many local officials have credited Oliphant, a developer and philanthropist who first moved to the valley in 1962, for helping to develop the region into what it is today. His accomplishments were particularly pronounced in Indian Wells, where he pushed to develop the city into its current reputation as a tourism destination.
In an interview with The Desert Sun, Indian Wells Mayor Toper Taylor described Oliphant as a “visionary problem-solver” and a “community-focused leader” with a passion for education.
“Dick came in and used his expertise in finance to make the city what it is today,” Taylor said.
Oliphant, who grew up in Iowa, began his career working for his family’s construction business before moving to Arizona to develop large residential communities there. He and his family came to the valley in 1962 to manage a new golf course community that later became the Palm Desert Country Club, and he developed hundreds of single-family homes and apartments in the valley during his career, according to a biography.
After moving to the valley, Oliphant went on to serve on the Indian Wells City Council from 1976 to 1992, including eight years as mayor. In the role, he helped develop the city into a tourist destination, guiding it through a period of financial uncertainty and near-bankruptcy.
His accomplishments at city hall included creating a public-private partnership to develop the Indian Wells Golf Resort — now a linchpin of the city’s economy — and leading efforts to develop the Indian Wells Tennis Garden as the home of what’s now the BNP Paribas Open. He also helped to manage the tennis garden’s major remodeling that was completed in 2014.
“An unknown fact is that Dick Oliphant was the City’s first Fire Chief,” Indian Wells City Clerk Angelica Avila wrote in a recent memo ahead of the city’s 60th anniversary. “He was also one of the original four paramedics to serve in the Coachella Valley. In this role, he responded to medical calls throughout the valley.”
Donna Griffith, a former member of the Indian Wells City Council who grew up in the valley, said she often refers to Oliphant as “the founding father” of the city due to the countless contribution he and his wife, Jan, made over the years, though she noted their contributions extended across the valley.
“We wouldn’t be Indian Wells if it wasn’t for him,” Griffith said. “A lot of the success that we are blessed with in Indian Wells is because of what he put in motion so many years ago.”
The honors for the Oliphants will continue in the coming months, as the council recently agreed to rename the city’s fire station in Richard’s honor, while its community garden will be renamed after Jan, who founded the Indian Wells Garden Club.
Oliphant also played a key role in developing educational opportunities in the desert, particularly with the Palm Desert campus for California State University, San Bernardino. He and co-chair Betty Barker led the fundraising campaign, raising more than $30 million to build the campus, which now has over 1,800 students and continues to expand.
Through his efforts, Oliphant received an honorary degree from CSUSB in 2006, with university officials praising his role in developing the satellite campus.
“Without Dick’s initial vision and later energy and support, we could never have built the Palm Desert Campus,” Albert Karnig, a former CSUSB president who died in 2017, said of Oliphant. “Dick has been the campus patron.”
Griffith noted the Oliphants’ dedication to Desert Sands Unified School District, particularly their work founding the district’s School Building Corporation in 1976. The nonprofit took the lead on bond issues and helped to fund a large share of new construction projects within the district, including its main office in La Quinta.
Ahead of an election for one of the district’s first bond measures, Griffith recalled Jan organizing a phone bank for parents to call residents and ensure that the measure was approved.
“(Richard and Jan) were really active in the school district, and his generosity and dedication to Desert Sands Unified was really monumental,” Griffith said.
Oliphant’s work in local education was also recognized with the naming of Richard Oliphant Elementary School in north Indio, after the DSUSD board agreed to name the new school after him in 2017.
When the new school’s name was announced, Oliphant noted that while serving as mayor, he helped open an elementary school named after President Gerald Ford, who was his personal friend. At the dedication ceremony, Oliphant recalled Ford remarking that having schools named after him was one of the great honors of being a former president.
“Now that I think back on that, I never made president, but I certainly know how he feels about having a school named after you,” Oliphant said.
Oliphant has also been active in local politics, serving as the founding chairman for the Lincoln Club of the Coachella Valley, while Ford served as its honorary chairman. Taylor, Indian Wells’ current mayor, recalled how Oliphant was “instrumental” in getting him to run for a council seat in 2024.
“I think Dick always loved quietly and humbly influencing local politics, not only in the city of Indian Wells, but in the Coachella Valley,” Taylor said. “He is a longtime Republican, a staunch supporter of conservative values, and he has a tremendous influence over the Coachella Valley as a whole.”
Griffith, who served on the council from 2020 to 2024, similarly recalled Oliphant being “very inspirational” to her ahead of her decision to run for the city council. After her election to the council, Griffith — as well as other city officials — always knew they could call Oliphant to get any context about a city project or initiative.
“He was a constant source of information and knowledge for all of us, because nine times out of 10, he had a hand in it,” Griffith said.
“He had a keen sense of memory,” she added. “I mean, he could remember in detail things that happened 30 or 40 years ago.”
Griffith added that Richard’s passing marks “a very large loss” for the entire valley, not just Indian Wells.
Richard’s regional impact was recognized in 2016, when he and Jan received a place on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars in honor of their philanthropy and community involvement. During the dedication ceremony, Richard told the crowd gathered that he and his wife “took a big leap” when they moved to the nascent valley with their five young children.
“We fell in love with the Coachella Valley, and we applied our motto the time we have lived here. ‘Community service is the price you pay for the space you occupy,’” Oliphant said.
Details of his memorial have yet to be announced.
Tom Coulter covers local government and politics for The Desert Sun. Reach him at thomas.coulter@desertsun.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Richard Oliphant, a ‘founding father’ of Indian Wells, dies at 92
Reporting by Tom Coulter, Palm Springs Desert Sun / Palm Springs Desert Sun
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Tom Coulter, Palm Springs Desert Sun | USA TODAY Network
