Stephen Paullada; Pierce College Instructor

Stephen Paullada, a language, philosophy and religion instructor at Pierce College who began his career in the institution’s infancy and taught there for more than 30 years, has died at his Tarzana home. He was 84.

A longtime San Fernando Valley resident, Paullada died Friday after a lengthy battle with cancer, said his son, Stephen Paullada Jr.

Born in Santa Rosa, N. M., Paullada came to California in the 1920s. He attended USC, where he received a bachelor’s degree in Spanish literature. He then completed a master’s degree at UCLA before he was called into military service in 1940.

During World War II, Paullada fought in the Pacific Theater and Italy with the U. S. Army. After a promotion to lieutenant colonel, he served as director of military schools in the Panama region and traveled extensively throughout South America.

Later, Paullada returned to the United States and received his Ph.D from USC. According to language instructor Henry Lopez, Paullada joined the Pierce faculty in 1950, where he taught courses in Spanish, philosophy and world religions for the next 25 years.

Among his many professional achievements, Paullada served several terms as chairman of the college’s language department and was a longtime adviser to the campus Spanish club. In 1963, he published a study of North American and Argentinian cattle cultures, “Rawhide and Song.”

After his retirement in 1975, Paullada was a substitute teacher and Spanish lecturer for another 11 years.

“He was a born leader,” Lopez said. “He liked people, people liked him. . . . He was a man who enjoyed the classroom.”

Privately, Paullada raised appaloosa show horses and mules at his home and had a lifelong interest in animals, his son said.

In addition to his son, Paullada is survived by his wife of 35 years, Elizabeth (Betsy); two daughters, Bonnie Cook and Diane Garrison, both of Enumclaw, Wash.; a sister, Adela Paullada of Los Angeles, and four grandchildren.

A funeral will be held at 11 a.m. today at Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Mortuary, 5600 N. Lindero Canyon Road, Westlake Village. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Paullada’s name to the World Wildlife Fund, 1250 24th St. N. W., Washington, D. C., 20037.