WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.000 music 00:00:06.000 --> 00:00:28.000 music 00:00:28.000 --> 00:00:32.000 Bob always used to pick on me 00:00:32.000 --> 00:00:35.000 when every spring in honors we have a gathering 00:00:35.000 --> 00:00:37.000 we have a formal gathering 00:00:37.000 --> 00:00:38.000 and it's at Gentle House. 00:00:38.000 --> 00:00:44.000 It has about 100 people, we have food, and we celebrate the achievements of our graduating seniors. 00:00:44.000 --> 00:00:47.000 And there are a bunch of honors students in the room here 00:00:47.000 --> 00:00:52.000 and they all can confirm that I lose it every single spring. 00:00:52.000 --> 00:00:57.000 I don't lose it in a big way but I get that kind of weepy, choky, etc. 00:00:57.000 --> 00:00:60.000 And so last spring after that happened 00:01:00.000 --> 00:01:05.000 Bob and I were debriefing back in the office and we were gonna go have a drink at Crush. 00:01:05.000 --> 00:01:10.000 And before we went to Crush he said you know I gotta say something Gavin. 00:01:10.000 --> 00:01:16.000 You have to stop tearing up in front of these kids. Just don't do that anymore. 00:01:16.000 --> 00:01:20.000 And so that stuck in my head as I was preparing my remarks. 00:01:20.000 --> 00:01:24.000 I'm not going to tear up today. 00:01:24.000 --> 00:01:27.000 OK? Bob I'm not gonna do it today. 00:01:27.000 --> 00:01:32.000 This is gonna be a benediction. This is gonna be giving thanks. 00:01:32.000 --> 00:01:36.000 We all traveled different distances to be here 00:01:36.000 --> 00:01:39.000 some people, I know Arno and Aili flew in. 00:01:39.000 --> 00:01:44.000 Others drove anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour or so. 00:01:44.000 --> 00:01:48.000 Thank you all of you for being here today. 00:01:48.000 --> 00:01:52.000 I don't think Bob really enjoyed grand yappy ceremonies. 00:01:52.000 --> 00:01:57.000 I base that conclusion on a number of Pacific Room events that we went to together. 00:01:57.000 --> 00:01:62.000 But the turnout on this cold day 00:02:02.000 --> 00:02:06.000 where so many people I know made the safe decision not to try to travel 00:02:06.000 --> 00:02:09.000 from say Washington, there were at least a few I know. 00:02:09.000 --> 00:02:14.000 I know he's looking down on all of us and smiling. The turnout is incredible. 00:02:14.000 --> 00:02:20.000 Bob was a treasured friend, colleague, father 00:02:20.000 --> 00:02:22.000 professor, to so many of us. 00:02:22.000 --> 00:02:30.000 And I say a father because Bob's son and daughter Arno and Aili are with us here today from Rhode Island. 00:02:30.000 --> 00:02:34.000 If you don't mind will you please both stand and let us give you an appreciative round of applause. 00:02:34.000 --> 00:02:40.000 applause 00:02:40.000 --> 00:02:45.000 And I think it's appropriate to do this right now rather than later. Let's take a moment of silence for Bob. 00:02:45.000 --> 00:02:47.000 Roughly a minute of silence please. 00:02:55.000 --> 00:02:57.000 Thank you. 00:02:58.000 --> 00:02:62.000 As the program states my name is Gavin Keulks if you haven't met me. 00:03:02.000 --> 00:03:06.000 And I direct the honors program here at Western and I am also an English professor 00:03:06.000 --> 00:03:10.000 but it was the honors connection that really brought Bob and me together. 00:03:10.000 --> 00:03:16.000 He chaired the honors committee for 10 years and we fought many battles together. 00:03:16.000 --> 00:03:20.000 More important than that however, he became my best friend. 00:03:20.000 --> 00:03:23.000 It didn't start out that way. It rarely does, right? 00:03:23.000 --> 00:03:27.000 You know we started working together as honors director, honors committee chair. 00:03:27.000 --> 00:03:31.000 We had to work together and if that relationship wasn't solid 00:03:31.000 --> 00:03:34.000 I would have no success with the honors program that was clear to me. 00:03:34.000 --> 00:03:39.000 And I think Bob must have sensed a kindred spirit in me 00:03:39.000 --> 00:03:42.000 because we both are committed to student success 00:03:42.000 --> 00:03:47.000 but he also sensed a kindred spirit in that whenever he wanted to talk about something 00:03:47.000 --> 00:03:50.000 he would suggest that we do it over a beer at Crush. 00:03:50.000 --> 00:03:55.000 Which still to this day remains the one guaranteed way to get on my calendar. 00:03:55.000 --> 00:03:57.000 That has a 100 percent success rate. 00:03:57.000 --> 00:03:61.000 So Bob and I began 10 years ago just grabbing a casual beer 00:04:01.000 --> 00:04:04.000 and then it became every few weeks. 00:04:04.000 --> 00:04:09.000 And towards the later terms of his life it was every Tuesday. 00:04:09.000 --> 00:04:12.000 Whether it was faculty senate or honors committee, etc. 00:04:12.000 --> 00:04:14.000 He was my best friend 00:04:14.000 --> 00:04:21.000 and today I want to celebrate the immense beauty and also the great sadness of life. 00:04:21.000 --> 00:04:23.000 Both of those things. 00:04:23.000 --> 00:04:28.000 Today as I mentioned I want to give thanks. I want it to be a benediction. 00:04:28.000 --> 00:04:32.000 It's a beautiful day. Look at the sun, right? Look at all of us. 00:04:32.000 --> 00:04:35.000 And it feels so good to be standing here in this room 00:04:35.000 --> 00:04:41.000 that's warm with and filled with our feelings for our dearly departed friend. 00:04:41.000 --> 00:04:44.000 I give thanks today for our friendship. 00:04:44.000 --> 00:04:48.000 I can't count the number of times we went out 00:04:48.000 --> 00:04:52.000 and I also can't count the number of laughs we shared. 00:04:52.000 --> 00:04:56.000 I especially remember that man's laugh. 00:04:56.000 --> 00:04:58.000 He sure knew how to tell a joke. 00:04:58.000 --> 00:04:63.000 And he got so happy so happy when he laughed at his own jokes. 00:05:03.000 --> 00:05:04.000 laughter 00:05:04.000 --> 00:05:10.000 His face would scrunch up and his chest would do one of these things 00:05:10.000 --> 00:05:14.000 as though there was a little earthquake taking place within him. 00:05:14.000 --> 00:05:20.000 I swear he was dancing within himself. It was just incredible and the joy that he felt. 00:05:20.000 --> 00:05:24.000 Oh man Bob he knew what mattered. 00:05:24.000 --> 00:05:28.000 He knew the value of friends and family and meaningful work. 00:05:28.000 --> 00:05:32.000 We've all seen pictures of those grandkids. 00:05:32.000 --> 00:05:34.000 He loved them so much. 00:05:34.000 --> 00:05:37.000 Aili and Arno, every time we went out, 00:05:37.000 --> 00:05:42.000 he'd pull out the phone and he'd say oh there's a new video you have to see or some new pictures. 00:05:42.000 --> 00:05:46.000 It was one of the existential constants of his life. 00:05:46.000 --> 00:05:52.000 He loved his friends. He loved his students. 00:05:52.000 --> 00:05:58.000 He loved his work and he loved his children and your families. 00:05:58.000 --> 00:05:62.000 Aili and Arno he was so proud of you and I can see why. 00:06:02.000 --> 00:06:06.000 Meeting you these last 30-something hours, you are remarkable. 00:06:06.000 --> 00:06:11.000 And he was so proud of the way you're raising your children. You need to know that. 00:06:11.000 --> 00:06:16.000 Materially Bob lived a very simple, minimalistic life 00:06:16.000 --> 00:06:18.000 surrounded only by what he needed. 00:06:18.000 --> 00:06:24.000 One of his mentors, many of you know this but it bears mentioning, was Henry David Thoreau 00:06:24.000 --> 00:06:27.000 author of Walden Pond. 00:06:27.000 --> 00:06:32.000 And in Walden he writes how he only needs a few chairs. 00:06:32.000 --> 00:06:37.000 One for himself and for work and then one or two for company and that's it. 00:06:39.000 --> 00:06:44.000 Kent Neely and I when we were in Bob's apartment that's exactly what we found. 00:06:44.000 --> 00:06:48.000 It was almost living that credo. It was incredible. 00:06:48.000 --> 00:06:52.000 Bob did not acquire things simply for the sake of acquiring them. 00:06:52.000 --> 00:06:56.000 Everything in his apartment, everything in his life I would argue, 00:06:56.000 --> 00:06:58.000 meant something to him. 00:06:58.000 --> 00:06:62.000 He surrounded himself with things that mattered. 00:07:02.000 --> 00:07:08.000 And that's one of the lessons that he taught me. Live light. 00:07:08.000 --> 00:07:10.000 He never said that. 00:07:10.000 --> 00:07:13.000 He said a lot, I quote him a lot but he never said live light 00:07:13.000 --> 00:07:16.000 and I'm not even sure if he would agree with me on the wording. 00:07:16.000 --> 00:07:20.000 He always tinkered with my wording and told me to rephrase certain emails that I would send. 00:07:20.000 --> 00:07:21.000 laughter 00:07:21.000 --> 00:07:25.000 But he sure lived that motto of living light. 00:07:25.000 --> 00:07:28.000 Don't get weighed down by stuff. 00:07:28.000 --> 00:07:32.000 Don't nourish your injustices or dwell on the past. 00:07:32.000 --> 00:07:35.000 Embrace change. Embrace movement. 00:07:35.000 --> 00:07:40.000 Move your body. Travel. Share laughter. Enjoy. 00:07:40.000 --> 00:07:42.000 And keep your loved ones close 00:07:42.000 --> 00:07:45.000 especially your friends and your family. 00:07:47.000 --> 00:07:49.000 When Bob was considering retirement 00:07:49.000 --> 00:07:53.000 and many of you know it was a hard decision for him to make 00:07:53.000 --> 00:07:57.000 we spoke a lot about the changes that that would entail. 00:07:57.000 --> 00:07:62.000 One morning we happened to be listening to the same show on NPR. 00:08:02.000 --> 00:08:05.000 I was driving into work and he must have been enjoying a morning tea. 00:08:05.000 --> 00:08:11.000 And it was Norman Lear the director and creator, producer, of famous American sitcoms 00:08:11.000 --> 00:08:14.000 like All in the Family, The Jeffersons, and Sanford and Son. 00:08:14.000 --> 00:08:20.000 Hit after hit after hit. These were just home runs, made everybody a lot of money 00:08:20.000 --> 00:08:23.000 and were extremely successful and beloved. 00:08:23.000 --> 00:08:28.000 And during this interview the interviewer asked a brilliant question. 00:08:28.000 --> 00:08:33.000 He said how do you move on from All in the Family? 00:08:33.000 --> 00:08:36.000 Like that's so good. What do you do after that? 00:08:36.000 --> 00:08:42.000 And Norman Lear to his credit answered that powerful question with an equally powerful remark 00:08:42.000 --> 00:08:44.000 that Bob and I both happened to talk about that evening 00:08:44.000 --> 00:08:49.000 and it was this and it became something very meaningful for both of us. 00:08:49.000 --> 00:08:56.000 Norman Lear said well I've got a two-word philosophy of life that always has helped me. 00:08:56.000 --> 00:08:58.000 Over, next. 00:09:00.000 --> 00:09:04.000 It seems so simple but over and next 00:09:04.000 --> 00:09:08.000 no matter how great or how crappy something is 00:09:08.000 --> 00:09:11.000 when it's over you move on. 00:09:11.000 --> 00:09:15.000 That's another way movement works, right? Move on to what's next. 00:09:15.000 --> 00:09:17.000 I give thanks for that too, Bob. 00:09:17.000 --> 00:09:22.000 For the laughter and also lessons like this. 00:09:22.000 --> 00:09:26.000 As I mentioned Bob and I bonded over honors education. 00:09:26.000 --> 00:09:29.000 From the beginning to the end we shared a committment to helping students. 00:09:29.000 --> 00:09:33.000 And trying to teach them more than simple course content. 00:09:33.000 --> 00:09:39.000 Like most teachers, we wanted to teach them perspective and mindsets. 00:09:39.000 --> 00:09:44.000 You don't get grades, he was fond of telling his students. You've heard this. 00:09:44.000 --> 00:09:49.000 You earn grades. You don't get a diploma, you earn one. 00:09:49.000 --> 00:09:52.000 That's another of the many things he taught me. 00:09:52.000 --> 00:09:57.000 Including the fun lesson that if you don't want to you don't have to cook anything in your own kitchen. 00:09:57.000 --> 00:09:61.000 Crush, Yeasty Beasty, Grain Station, 00:10:01.000 --> 00:10:05.000 they're literally a few blocks away and that's exactly what they're for. 00:10:07.000 --> 00:10:10.000 When I learned that he had passed 00:10:10.000 --> 00:10:16.000 I spent the entire day on the phone with colleagues and current and former students. 00:10:16.000 --> 00:10:19.000 One of the worst days of my life. 00:10:19.000 --> 00:10:24.000 That night I poured myself a whiskey and sat outside alone. 00:10:24.000 --> 00:10:26.000 And I swear he was hovering around me 00:10:26.000 --> 00:10:33.000 and we had one of our most poignant kind of final conversations 00:10:33.000 --> 00:10:36.000 and nights drinking together. 00:10:36.000 --> 00:10:40.000 But the next night though I went to the gym 00:10:40.000 --> 00:10:42.000 because that's how you truly honor this man. 00:10:42.000 --> 00:10:46.000 He wouldn't have wanted me to just drink every night so I went to the gym. 00:10:46.000 --> 00:10:48.000 And this is where it got a little bit weird. 00:10:48.000 --> 00:10:50.000 I want to tell you a short vignette. I'm almost done. 00:10:50.000 --> 00:10:56.000 But 24 Hour Fitness is my gym and I can only go late after the kids go to bed. 00:10:56.000 --> 00:10:61.000 So they go to bed 8:30ish and it takes me a while to get there so 9:15 let's say I'm there. 00:11:01.000 --> 00:11:06.000 And the place usually is still busy but not that busy. 00:11:06.000 --> 00:11:09.000 And there's a little basketball court, no way near as big as this, 00:11:09.000 --> 00:11:15.000 and it always has a whole bunch of 20-year-olds playing like three on three pickup. 00:11:15.000 --> 00:11:18.000 This night was weird though. 00:11:18.000 --> 00:11:20.000 There was one short woman on the basketball court 00:11:20.000 --> 00:11:24.000 and she was shooting three-pointers 00:11:24.000 --> 00:11:28.000 wearing a hijab. 00:11:28.000 --> 00:11:32.000 Never seen her before. Certainly would have remembered it with the head covering. 00:11:32.000 --> 00:11:34.000 And she's the only one on the basketball court 00:11:34.000 --> 00:11:38.000 and she's launching these three-pointers from way behind the line. 00:11:38.000 --> 00:11:44.000 She's missing every single one by multiple feet. 00:11:44.000 --> 00:11:47.000 And I'm just sitting there like watching her not in a condemnatory way or anything 00:11:47.000 --> 00:11:50.000 just watching her because it's something I did not expect. 00:11:50.000 --> 00:11:55.000 And she senses this and she turns and looks at me and I just 00:11:55.000 --> 00:11:57.000 I did that. 00:11:57.000 --> 00:11:59.000 And she smiled and she laughed. 00:11:59.000 --> 00:11:64.000 But what struck me about this like the moment kind of fractured to be honest 00:12:04.000 --> 00:12:10.000 and I felt like something, I don't want to call it a message I don't want to be spiritually superstitious or anything 00:12:10.000 --> 00:12:12.000 but it suddenly stepped out of time 00:12:12.000 --> 00:12:16.000 and I realized that she was having fun. 00:12:16.000 --> 00:12:19.000 She was moving. She loved what she was doing 00:12:19.000 --> 00:12:23.000 and she didn't care if she missed every single three-pointer. 00:12:23.000 --> 00:12:29.000 And that's one of the lessons that I kinda see that, Bob would have loved it. 00:12:29.000 --> 00:12:35.000 Regardless of your size or your age or your faith or whatever, movement wins. 00:12:35.000 --> 00:12:38.000 Movement is fun. Move your bodies. 00:12:38.000 --> 00:12:42.000 Shoot those three-pointers with wont and exuberance. 00:12:42.000 --> 00:12:45.000 Even if you know you're gonna miss every single one. 00:12:45.000 --> 00:12:48.000 Just do it because you love it. 00:12:48.000 --> 00:12:55.000 Bob had his share of disappointments like all of us. He was exceptional at consoling and counseling friends like me. 00:12:55.000 --> 00:12:59.000 Another of his great sayings was, and this was to respond to criticism, 00:12:59.000 --> 00:12:63.000 we all get some brutal criticism in our life, often work-related. 00:13:03.000 --> 00:13:06.000 And he used to say that there was something he learned, 00:13:06.000 --> 00:13:11.000 he said there's nothing you can say to me, talking to someone in the abstract a critic, 00:13:11.000 --> 00:13:16.000 there's nothing you can say to me that I haven't heard before from people far more important to me than you. 00:13:18.000 --> 00:13:24.000 That's a devastating line. He was the master of the devastating one-liner. 00:13:24.000 --> 00:13:27.000 What an incredibly beautiful world this is. 00:13:27.000 --> 00:13:29.000 Enjoy every last moment in it. 00:13:29.000 --> 00:13:33.000 Laugh love and move. 00:13:33.000 --> 00:13:36.000 And when it doesn't seem incredible or beautiful 00:13:36.000 --> 00:13:40.000 don't overthink it or internalize the negativity you encounter. 00:13:40.000 --> 00:13:44.000 That's over, next. 00:13:44.000 --> 00:13:47.000 The one statement I'll remember the most 00:13:47.000 --> 00:13:51.000 and I'll celebrate here at the end of my comments is this. 00:13:51.000 --> 00:13:54.000 Bob always said at the end of the day 00:13:54.000 --> 00:13:58.000 the only person you have to answer to is yourself 00:13:58.000 --> 00:13:61.000 when you look in the mirror before bed. 00:14:01.000 --> 00:14:05.000 Let that one sink in because that's how he lived his life. 00:14:05.000 --> 00:14:13.000 At the end of the day the only person you have to answer to is yourself when you look in the mirror before bed. 00:14:13.000 --> 00:14:17.000 Make peace with yourself, with your strengths and your flaws 00:14:17.000 --> 00:14:19.000 and be true to that vision. 00:14:19.000 --> 00:14:22.000 Live light with yourself. 00:14:22.000 --> 00:14:26.000 Forgive yourself. Move and move on. 00:14:26.000 --> 00:14:32.000 And if you do that, if you make peace with your own integrity and your fallibility 00:14:32.000 --> 00:14:36.000 then you won't be a visitor in this one wild and glorious life that you have. 00:14:36.000 --> 00:14:40.000 Give thanks for your wild and your glorious life. 00:14:40.000 --> 00:14:44.000 Do not let yourself become a tourist on this earth. 00:14:44.000 --> 00:14:48.000 Move laugh and love 00:14:48.000 --> 00:14:51.000 and keep your loved ones close. Thank you. 00:14:51.000 --> 00:14:55.000 applause 00:14:55.000 --> 00:14:57.000 For those of you who might not know me I'm Brian Caster 00:14:57.000 --> 00:14:60.000 faculty member in the division of health and exercise science. 00:15:00.000 --> 00:15:04.000 Most of the time I talk to students in biomechanics about things like Newton's laws 00:15:04.000 --> 00:15:07.000 and friction about 25 of the time 00:15:07.000 --> 00:15:12.000 but I've also prepared some remarks that I hope capture the essence of Bob 00:15:12.000 --> 00:15:16.000 what he meant to me and to my colleagues in health and exercise science 00:15:16.000 --> 00:15:20.000 and leave you with some thoughts as well. 00:15:20.000 --> 00:15:25.000 For many of us at Western Oregon, Bob was more than just a colleague but also a great friend. 00:15:25.000 --> 00:15:28.000 For me Bob became part of our family. 00:15:28.000 --> 00:15:32.000 He was an expected fixture at the Thanksgiving dinner table and many other family celebrations. 00:15:32.000 --> 00:15:36.000 I recall my mom's 80th birthday two summers ago. 00:15:36.000 --> 00:15:38.000 She wanted only family members there. No drop-ins. 00:15:38.000 --> 00:15:44.000 Just those most important to her, but don't forget to invite Bob. 00:15:44.000 --> 00:15:46.000 She reminded me of that several times. 00:15:46.000 --> 00:15:50.000 Bob always had an invitation to come early and stay late. 00:15:50.000 --> 00:15:54.000 We shared an aversion to large crowds that I think Gavin alluded to 00:15:54.000 --> 00:15:58.000 but an affinity for one-on-one where you can build a relationship. 00:15:58.000 --> 00:15:61.000 And most of you here I think that knew Bob will know what I mean by that. 00:16:01.000 --> 00:16:05.000 When we lose somebody close way too early 00:16:05.000 --> 00:16:09.000 at least it helps me to consider how to pass on something that we knew about them. 00:16:09.000 --> 00:16:12.000 How to carry on a mission maybe that was important to them 00:16:12.000 --> 00:16:16.000 or how to strengthen something in ourselves that we admired in our friend. 00:16:16.000 --> 00:16:21.000 And thinking of Bob's influence on me and on others, three things come to mind. 00:16:21.000 --> 00:16:25.000 First, if Bob thought something was worth doing he stuck with it. 00:16:25.000 --> 00:16:28.000 He made it a part of not just a routine 00:16:28.000 --> 00:16:31.000 but he made it a part of who he was, part of his lifestyle. 00:16:31.000 --> 00:16:36.000 Academically he and I discovered what Scholarship in Teaching and Learning was, what it really meant 00:16:36.000 --> 00:16:40.000 thanks to our friend Linda Stonecipher and a book club many years ago. 00:16:40.000 --> 00:16:45.000 We wrote an article together, we attended a major Scholarship in Teaching and Learning conference in Georgia. 00:16:45.000 --> 00:16:49.000 That was over a decade ago and I never made it back to a second conference. 00:16:49.000 --> 00:16:55.000 But Bob felt so academically stimulated that he kept going back year after year. 00:16:55.000 --> 00:16:59.000 Traveling at this time of year. The conference was a couple of weeks ago. 00:16:59.000 --> 00:16:62.000 Many regular attendees and organizers valued him at that conference 00:17:02.000 --> 00:17:06.000 just as we did here. He made relationships wherever he went. 00:17:06.000 --> 00:17:10.000 He felt something was worth doing, it's something he made part of who he was. 00:17:10.000 --> 00:17:15.000 The reason we're in this facility today is that since the first term it opened 00:17:15.000 --> 00:17:19.000 Bob spent nearly every morning he was in town walking around that track up there. 00:17:19.000 --> 00:17:24.000 That was part of his lifestyle and an active lifestyle it was. 00:17:24.000 --> 00:17:28.000 And of course he discovered that this was also such a great place to interact with his students 00:17:28.000 --> 00:17:33.000 that his de facto office was the chair and table up on the mezzanine 00:17:33.000 --> 00:17:37.000 where his remembrance and photo will be located. 00:17:37.000 --> 00:17:40.000 I did that for a while too when we first opened this building 00:17:40.000 --> 00:17:44.000 back when our division offices were scattered all over campus. 00:17:44.000 --> 00:17:46.000 Bob had no window in the New PE building. 00:17:46.000 --> 00:17:49.000 He let everybody know about that year after year after year. 00:17:49.000 --> 00:17:56.000 So he was ecstatic to move into this building with light and to be able to interact with students. 00:17:56.000 --> 00:17:60.000 But even after we moved into the gorgeous new Richard Woodcock Education Center 00:18:00.000 --> 00:18:04.000 Bob and I have the only two offices in the whole building for faculty 00:18:04.000 --> 00:18:07.000 our dean has an office with a south facing window 00:18:07.000 --> 00:18:11.000 but Bob and I also have the only two faculty offices that look south at that sun this time of year. 00:18:11.000 --> 00:18:17.000 But even after that Bob still set up shop up here. 00:18:17.000 --> 00:18:20.000 Because that's where students knew to find him 00:18:20.000 --> 00:18:22.000 and where he would interact with students. 00:18:22.000 --> 00:18:25.000 It was a good idea and it became part of who he was as a professor. 00:18:25.000 --> 00:18:31.000 You know even before Bob set up shop here he had a second office. Does anybody remember where? 00:18:32.000 --> 00:18:36.000 Well besides Crush. This was before Crush opened. 00:18:36.000 --> 00:18:38.000 I didn't spend many of those times like Gavin did 00:18:38.000 --> 00:18:42.000 because I had to drive home after having the beer. Maybe Gavin did too. 00:18:42.000 --> 00:18:45.000 But he would always extend that invitation to me. 00:18:45.000 --> 00:18:48.000 No he set up shop in the Werner University Center. 00:18:48.000 --> 00:18:52.000 At the crossroads of campus 00:18:52.000 --> 00:18:54.000 where students could easily find him 00:18:54.000 --> 00:18:56.000 sometimes whether they wanted to or not. 00:18:56.000 --> 00:18:60.000 Bob's accessibility students was legendary. They'll be a model of that. 00:19:00.000 --> 00:19:04.000 There may be some of you here that remember his 00:19:04.000 --> 00:19:09.000 knitting instruction, not knitting, crocheting instruction that he did over at those tables in the Werner University Center 00:19:09.000 --> 00:19:13.000 And the Mother Bear Project that ensued from that. 00:19:13.000 --> 00:19:16.000 I still have some of those little bears that I never got stuffed and sent off. 00:19:16.000 --> 00:19:21.000 But Bob had them all stuffed and sent off. Some of you may remember playing cribbage with him. 00:19:21.000 --> 00:19:24.000 He didn't do that so much over here, but 00:19:24.000 --> 00:19:27.000 I got a wonderful email from 00:19:27.000 --> 00:19:31.000 One of Bob's first students, Beau Burst. Many of us here probably know Beau. 00:19:31.000 --> 00:19:35.000 And he expressed his 00:19:35.000 --> 00:19:39.000 regret of not being able to make it down from Spokane with the weather. 00:19:39.000 --> 00:19:43.000 iciness in the gorge. But he recalled that every Friday for 00:19:43.000 --> 00:19:47.000 two and a half years, he had a standing cribbage 00:19:47.000 --> 00:19:51.000 game with Bob and that lead him to all those other things that happened. 00:19:51.000 --> 00:19:57.000 When you interact with someone informally, that's where a lot of the teaching and mentoring happens. 00:19:57.000 --> 00:19:63.000 A second trait of Bob's that we can all strive to emulate was his desire for intellectual stimulation. 00:20:03.000 --> 00:20:08.000 That's what brought him to our university. That's what kept him doing what he did professionally for so many years. 00:20:08.000 --> 00:20:12.000 Probably what kept him from retiring a couple years after he first thought of the idea. 00:20:12.000 --> 00:20:17.000 I was reading through some old emails recently and came across an exchange that we had 00:20:17.000 --> 00:20:19.000 during his sabbatical time in Finland. 00:20:19.000 --> 00:20:25.000 I hadn't heard from him in a while, hadn't heard from him over the summer and this was on into the fall. 00:20:25.000 --> 00:20:29.000 And when I first read what he wrote to me, it was an explosion of excitement 00:20:29.000 --> 00:20:32.000 over what he was learning, over language, 00:20:32.000 --> 00:20:36.000 about the Finnish educational system, about cultural practices. 00:20:36.000 --> 00:20:42.000 He actually used the word in that email, I've never felt so intellectually stimulated. 00:20:42.000 --> 00:20:45.000 In what was probably the longest email he ever wrote to me 00:20:45.000 --> 00:20:48.000 It was just like that scholarship of teaching 00:20:48.000 --> 00:20:51.000 and learning conference. He was intellectually stimulated. 00:20:51.000 --> 00:20:56.000 He thought it was a good idea, so he kept going back. He kept going back to Finland. 00:20:56.000 --> 00:20:61.000 The land of his heritage, learning the Finnish language, solidifying friendships. 00:21:01.000 --> 00:21:04.000 Stimulating his mind and his senses. 00:21:04.000 --> 00:21:08.000 I won't go here into the fly fishing and sauna that he did in Finland 00:21:08.000 --> 00:21:12.000 but come talk to me later. Maybe I can help continue where Bob 00:21:12.000 --> 00:21:17.000 left of promoting the health and wellbeing of those two activities as well. 00:21:17.000 --> 00:21:20.000 Bob's main mission with regard to students was 00:21:20.000 --> 00:21:23.000 precisely this, building intellectual curiosity. 00:21:23.000 --> 00:21:30.000 He made me think, was a phrase I heard and read over and over and over in students' descriptions of Dr. H. 00:21:32.000 --> 00:21:38.000 Final observation I leave you to ponder is Bob's ceaseless desire to propose a better way. 00:21:38.000 --> 00:21:41.000 Maybe it was a simple inefficiency. 00:21:41.000 --> 00:21:43.000 I recall it, yeah, everybody knows what I'm talking about. 00:21:43.000 --> 00:21:48.000 Maybe it was a simple inefficiency. I recall his irritation 00:21:48.000 --> 00:21:51.000 with the finger print scanner when this facility first opened. 00:21:51.000 --> 00:21:57.000 He wanted to use his thumb. It was more ergonomically sound. It didn't like his fingerprint. 00:21:57.000 --> 00:21:60.000 I think they let him use his thumb. He might have been the only person 00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:03.000 that they allowed to do that. And I'm sure he's already wearing St. Peter down for 00:22:03.000 --> 00:22:07.000 posing a more efficient way for entry into that facility. 00:22:07.000 --> 00:22:08.000 laughter 00:22:08.000 --> 00:22:13.000 Or maybe it was a perceived injustice. Maybe something a little bit more grand or important. 00:22:13.000 --> 00:22:16.000 He repeatedly went to bat for students, seeking to tailor 00:22:16.000 --> 00:22:21.000 their academic programs to closer to their professional needs and interests. 00:22:21.000 --> 00:22:25.000 Which also led him to play a pivotal role within our interdisciplinary studies major. 00:22:25.000 --> 00:22:29.000 He helped form that into a choice program to major 00:22:29.000 --> 00:22:34.000 not just something that the student that needs to collect classes can do so in an efficient way. 00:22:34.000 --> 00:22:38.000 He hated it when he felt that students were being cubby holed. 00:22:38.000 --> 00:22:43.000 He was their advocate not for an easy way through, but for the best way through. 00:22:43.000 --> 00:22:48.000 That's why it's called earning a degree, was one of Bob's favorite phrases that I remember 00:22:48.000 --> 00:22:53.000 And used over and over and over, as the way he proposed was often not the most 00:22:53.000 --> 00:22:57.000 not the easiest for the student but was the more challenging for the student. 00:22:57.000 --> 00:22:63.000 That's why they call it earning a degree. Perhaps Bob was most tireless 00:23:03.000 --> 00:23:07.000 in his area of promoting the academically soundest way to teach people how to move 00:23:07.000 --> 00:23:12.000 and to learn to move yourself. Every term he challenged our majors to critically examine 00:23:12.000 --> 00:23:15.000 the accepted way of doing things, to challenge their own beliefs 00:23:15.000 --> 00:23:19.000 and to strive for a better way as they become human movement professionals. 00:23:19.000 --> 00:23:23.000 I'm sure he has already convinced Ted Williams that if only he was used 00:23:23.000 --> 00:23:28.000 more variable practice, he'd of batted over four hundred lifetime. 00:23:30.000 --> 00:23:35.000 So as you guys were gathered here today and as we go our separate paths and we depart 00:23:35.000 --> 00:23:40.000 my challenge to all of you is to consider how Bob, Dr. H 00:23:40.000 --> 00:23:44.000 Dad or Brother or Uncle or Bari, however you knew him, 00:23:44.000 --> 00:23:48.000 consider how he influenced you and see if you can't build some of that 00:23:48.000 --> 00:23:54.000 into your lifestyle and into how you interact with others along your personal, professional paths. 00:23:54.000 --> 00:23:56.000 Thank you. 00:23:56.000 --> 00:23:60.000 applause. Well, Bob, I hope you're happy. 00:24:00.000 --> 00:24:07.000 Your damn New England Patriots won again. laughter, applause 00:24:07.000 --> 00:24:09.000 I got to know Bob 00:24:09.000 --> 00:24:13.000 intimately over the last five years, but I've known him since I came 00:24:13.000 --> 00:24:16.000 to Western in 2008. 00:24:16.000 --> 00:24:20.000 And I got to know him through the Honors Committee. As Gavin mentioned, 00:24:20.000 --> 00:24:23.000 Bob was the Chair of the Honors Committee 00:24:23.000 --> 00:24:26.000 and he always had this sort of silent 00:24:26.000 --> 00:24:29.000 presence when we were having discussions about 00:24:29.000 --> 00:24:33.000 How can we help the students, how can we help this particular student? 00:24:33.000 --> 00:24:38.000 I agreed and admired him and then I became a little better acquainted with him 00:24:38.000 --> 00:24:42.000 when we went to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland together. 00:24:42.000 --> 00:24:46.000 And so Bob and I spent a good deal of time. We went to a record store. 00:24:46.000 --> 00:24:51.000 And I picked up a Beatles LP and he came over and he started telling me trivia 00:24:51.000 --> 00:24:54.000 about the Beatles that I had never heard! 00:24:54.000 --> 00:24:59.000 And his depth of knowledge, I had a motorcycle crash a couple of years ago 00:24:59.000 --> 00:24:64.000 and Bob would say, Well, this is why you're feeling pain there. You might try to do this. 00:25:04.000 --> 00:25:09.000 He had a depth of knowledge about exercise and also how it could help you or 00:25:09.000 --> 00:25:12.000 how you could be better afterward. 00:25:12.000 --> 00:25:16.000 The thing that was very impressive about Bob is the impact he 00:25:16.000 --> 00:25:20.000 had on students that was evidenced when we would be out together. 00:25:20.000 --> 00:25:24.000 They'd be at Grain Station or previously J's, 00:25:24.000 --> 00:25:28.000 be at Crush or some other place and you'd hear 00:25:28.000 --> 00:25:30.000 Hey, Dr. H, how you doing? 00:25:30.000 --> 00:25:33.000 Hey, Dr. H, thanks for what you did for me this year. 00:25:33.000 --> 00:25:36.000 Hey, Dr. H, I graduated! 00:25:36.000 --> 00:25:41.000 And he was always able to recognize them by name. 00:25:41.000 --> 00:25:46.000 It was really humbling to see how he had this affinity for the students. 00:25:46.000 --> 00:25:52.000 And how he continued to be active and integrative into their lives. 00:25:52.000 --> 00:25:56.000 I have to share a story about Gavin 00:25:56.000 --> 00:25:60.000 and Bob and myself. We frequently went to dinner. 00:26:00.000 --> 00:26:05.000 We called them KGB nights, Kent, Gavin, Bob. laughter 00:26:05.000 --> 00:26:09.000 And we would often decide, well, we're going to go to Independence. 00:26:09.000 --> 00:26:12.000 And we'll have something to eat there. And so 00:26:12.000 --> 00:26:16.000 Bob would always say Well, I'll ride over with Gavin and I'll ride back with you. 00:26:16.000 --> 00:26:21.000 And so I didn't think much of it and then it happened a number of times. 00:26:21.000 --> 00:26:25.000 And I just thought Bob never offers to drive! laughter 00:26:25.000 --> 00:26:29.000 And I ask Gavin. I said, Gavin, does Bob have a car? 00:26:29.000 --> 00:26:32.000 And he says Oh yeah, Bob has a car. 00:26:32.000 --> 00:26:38.000 He doesn't want to lose his parking space at the apartment building. laughter 00:26:38.000 --> 00:26:44.000 As Gavin said, Bob led a simple, purpose driven life. 00:26:44.000 --> 00:26:48.000 As you've heard from 00:26:48.000 --> 00:26:52.000 prior speakers, he spent a lot of time on campus. 00:26:52.000 --> 00:26:55.000 This was where he found his home. 00:26:55.000 --> 00:26:61.000 And he would meet with students here, as Brian said, or in the WUC. 00:27:01.000 --> 00:27:06.000 He would make himself available so that the students could find him easily and 00:27:06.000 --> 00:27:09.000 casually and have a conversation about their lives 00:27:09.000 --> 00:27:12.000 or about their studies. 00:27:12.000 --> 00:27:15.000 Bob lived his values. 00:27:15.000 --> 00:27:19.000 Something that I truly admired. And one of the people as 00:27:19.000 --> 00:27:24.000 Gavin noted that he truly admired was Henry David Thoreau. 00:27:24.000 --> 00:27:28.000 And like Thoreau, Bob loved nature. 00:27:28.000 --> 00:27:33.000 He was not interested in wealth. He was not interested in prestige. 00:27:33.000 --> 00:27:36.000 He was interested in serving others. 00:27:36.000 --> 00:27:41.000 His students, his colleagues, the campus. 00:27:41.000 --> 00:27:46.000 And he was a proud, proud father and grandfather. 00:27:46.000 --> 00:27:49.000 As I tried to think of a way to memorialize Bob, 00:27:49.000 --> 00:27:53.000 I thought about Thoreau and his writings. 00:27:53.000 --> 00:27:57.000 And I found Thoreau's poem, Conscience, 00:27:57.000 --> 00:27:62.000 and I thought that would be a worthy tribute and I'd like to share that with you. 00:28:02.000 --> 00:28:06.000 Conscience is instinct bred in the house, 00:28:06.000 --> 00:28:09.000 Feeling and Thinking propagate the sin 00:28:09.000 --> 00:28:13.000 By an unnatural breeding in and in. 00:28:13.000 --> 00:28:16.000 I say, Turn it out doors, 00:28:16.000 --> 00:28:18.000 Into the moors. 00:28:18.000 --> 00:28:22.000 I love a life whose plot is simple, 00:28:22.000 --> 00:28:25.000 And does not thicken with every pimple, 00:28:25.000 --> 00:28:30.000 A soul so sound no sickly conscience binds it, 00:28:30.000 --> 00:28:35.000 That makes the universe no worse than it finds it. 00:28:35.000 --> 00:28:37.000 I love an earnest soul, 00:28:37.000 --> 00:28:40.000 Whose mighty joy and sorrow 00:28:40.000 --> 00:28:44.000 Are not drowned in a bowl And brought to live tomorrow, 00:28:44.000 --> 00:28:49.000 That lives one tragedy, And not seventy, 00:28:49.000 --> 00:28:54.000 A conscience worth keeping, Laughing not weeping, 00:28:54.000 --> 00:28:57.000 A conscience wise and steady, And forever ready, 00:28:57.000 --> 00:28:62.000 Not changing with events, Dealing in compliments, 00:29:02.000 --> 00:29:08.000 A conscience exercised about Large things, where one may doubt. 00:29:08.000 --> 00:29:14.000 I love a soul not all of wood, Predestinated to be good, 00:29:14.000 --> 00:29:20.000 But true to the backbone Unto itself alone, And false to none, 00:29:20.000 --> 00:29:24.000 Born to its own affairs, Its own joys and own cares, 00:29:24.000 --> 00:29:31.000 By whom the work which God begun Is finished, and not undone, 00:29:31.000 --> 00:29:34.000 Taken up where he left off, 00:29:34.000 --> 00:29:37.000 Whether to worship or to scoff, 00:29:37.000 --> 00:29:40.000 If not good, why then evil, 00:29:40.000 --> 00:29:43.000 If not good god, good devil. 00:29:43.000 --> 00:29:47.000 Goodness! you hypocrite, come out of that, 00:29:47.000 --> 00:29:51.000 Live your life, do your work, then take your hat. 00:29:51.000 --> 00:29:56.000 I have to patience towards such conscientious cowards. 00:29:56.000 --> 00:29:60.000 Give me simple laboring folk, 00:30:00.000 --> 00:30:02.000 Who love their work, 00:30:02.000 --> 00:30:07.000 Whose virtue is song To cheer God along. 00:30:07.000 --> 00:30:09.000 Rest in peace, Bob. 00:30:09.000 --> 00:30:12.000 applause 00:30:12.000 --> 00:30:17.000 Everyone, my name is Toni Gowen. If I come across at all as 00:30:17.000 --> 00:30:19.000 nervous today that is because I really am. 00:30:19.000 --> 00:30:28.000 I am not a great public speaker, and Dr H definately made me aware of that. In my first presentation, 00:30:28.000 --> 00:30:32.000 in one of his classes, he basically 00:30:32.000 --> 00:30:36.000 called me into office hours the next week and told me that 00:30:36.000 --> 00:30:40.000 while my material was spot on my delivery was 00:30:40.000 --> 00:30:44.000 pretty much garbage. I think he would actually find it pretty 00:30:44.000 --> 00:30:48.000 funny that I am up here speaking at his memorial. 00:30:48.000 --> 00:30:52.000 He was by far one of my favorite and most impactful educators 00:30:52.000 --> 00:30:56.000 in my time here. He was a professor that 00:30:56.000 --> 00:30:60.000 was basically the first person to really show me that he truelly 00:31:00.000 --> 00:31:04.000 believed in me. Even after I left the Exercise Science 00:31:04.000 --> 00:31:08.000 Community and he was no longer officially my major advisor he 00:31:08.000 --> 00:31:12.000 continued to advise me in my academics and career goals. 00:31:12.000 --> 00:31:16.000 He really wanted to push me to excel. He wanted me to head down 00:31:16.000 --> 00:31:20.000 a path that would not only challenge me but also bring me joy. 00:31:20.000 --> 00:31:24.000 I was never a confident student, but that is the student 00:31:24.000 --> 00:31:28.000 who I have become, and I owe a lot of the person that I am today to Dr H. 00:31:28.000 --> 00:31:32.000 I believe that Dr H embodied the spirit of Western Oregon, 00:31:32.000 --> 00:31:36.000 and also the surrounding community. 00:31:36.000 --> 00:31:40.000 He believed strongly in Westerns mission for education. There are 00:31:40.000 --> 00:31:44.000 five values of Western that I would like to especially highlight as values 00:31:44.000 --> 00:31:48.000 that he represented and symbolized. Those are accountability, 00:31:48.000 --> 00:31:52.000 collaboration, community, empowerment, and excellence. 00:31:52.000 --> 00:31:56.000 A lot of us know that he had really, really high standards, he did not 00:31:56.000 --> 00:31:60.000 put up with any crap quite frankly. He held students 00:32:00.000 --> 00:32:04.000 accountable for their own education, really wanted them to truly own it. 00:32:04.000 --> 00:32:08.000 He was empowering, he really wanted students to learn 00:32:08.000 --> 00:32:12.000 to use critical thinking to develop their skills, 00:32:12.000 --> 00:32:15.000 and knowledge, and to grow as human beings. 00:32:15.000 --> 00:32:19.000 He taught me to take opportunities and to not be afraid. 00:32:19.000 --> 00:32:23.000 He was so incredibly confident in his students abilities, wanting every student 00:32:23.000 --> 00:32:28.000 to put their best food forward, and to truly perform and achieve at their highest level. 00:32:28.000 --> 00:32:30.000 Whether that be in the classroom, or in other endeavors. 00:32:30.000 --> 00:32:33.000 He always inspired excellence. 00:32:33.000 --> 00:32:35.000 He valued collaboration, 00:32:35.000 --> 00:32:39.000 believing that the classroom was a cooperative experience, and one of togetherness 00:32:39.000 --> 00:32:44.000 and learning from one another. He cared deeply for everyone at Western, 00:32:44.000 --> 00:32:47.000 connecting with students both in and outside of the classroom. 00:32:47.000 --> 00:32:52.000 He wanted to be a part of the university and the community in any way that he possibly could, 00:32:52.000 --> 00:32:56.000 as you have heard, he served on multiple committees, he attended 100s 00:32:56.000 --> 00:32:60.000 of athletic competitions over the years that he spent here. 00:33:00.000 --> 00:33:04.000 He stayed connected to everything the students where doing and accomplishing. 00:33:04.000 --> 00:33:08.000 He was an incredible supporter of athletics, constantly keeping 00:33:08.000 --> 00:33:12.000 himself up to date on how our teams and athletes were doing in their seasons. 00:33:12.000 --> 00:33:16.000 I will never forget being a freshman in his class. Being really shy and timid, 00:33:16.000 --> 00:33:20.000 and having him call me out in front of the entire class and name the exact 00:33:20.000 --> 00:33:24.000 time that I had run from the weekend before, and also talk about how far my 00:33:24.000 --> 00:33:28.000 teammates had run, and thrown, and jumped from that weekend as well. 00:33:28.000 --> 00:33:32.000 Many of you already know this, but he never missed a single womens 00:33:32.000 --> 00:33:36.000 basketball game or volleyball game in 14 years. He was even 00:33:36.000 --> 00:33:40.000 watching from Finland on sabbatical from the livestream. 00:33:40.000 --> 00:33:44.000 It was really cool. His care for the students here and all 00:33:44.000 --> 00:33:48.000 the people here was truly incredible. And he completely lived and breathed 00:33:48.000 --> 00:33:52.000 Western Oregon University. Dr H will be greatly 00:33:52.000 --> 00:33:54.000 missed, but he most certainly will never be forgotten. 00:33:54.000 --> 00:33:58.000 The lessons that he taught so many of us will carry on 00:33:58.000 --> 00:33:61.000 and will continue to shape us as we move forward. Thank you. 00:34:01.000 --> 00:34:04.000 To start I wanted to thank everyone involved 00:34:04.000 --> 00:34:08.000 in planning and attending this event. Our father was never 00:34:08.000 --> 00:34:12.000 one to seek attention for his own sake, but I know he would appreciate 00:34:12.000 --> 00:34:16.000 the thought and effort thats involved in this event. 00:34:16.000 --> 00:34:20.000 When he decided to get back to teaching and move out to Oregon, 00:34:20.000 --> 00:34:24.000 Bob's friends planned a surprise going away party to see him off. 00:34:24.000 --> 00:34:28.000 My sister and I parked up the hill from the house, and 00:34:28.000 --> 00:34:32.000 went inside to wait. When he walked in the door, and we all yelled, 00:34:32.000 --> 00:34:36.000 our dad was shocked. Frozen where he stood, 00:34:36.000 --> 00:34:40.000 and then visibly moved by the showing. 00:34:40.000 --> 00:34:44.000 He spent the evening sharing his plans, letting everyone know he looked forward 00:34:44.000 --> 00:34:48.000 to the adventure. He and i shared the advice that the best force 00:34:48.000 --> 00:34:52.000 the best course forward was onward. And as he was fond 00:34:52.000 --> 00:34:56.000 of saying, if Monmouth was a horrible place to live, no one would be there. 00:34:56.000 --> 00:34:60.000 For a number of years, he kept the Hermin Melville quote, 00:35:00.000 --> 00:35:04.000 at the bottom of his email. "For what knows he, this New England colts 00:35:04.000 --> 00:35:08.000 of the black bisons of distant Oregon." I know he appreciated 00:35:08.000 --> 00:35:12.000 the initial relevance but he also certainly found ways to adapt to his new home. 00:35:12.000 --> 00:35:16.000 Though he may have resisted attempts to acknowledge the pronunciation 00:35:16.000 --> 00:35:20.000 of Oregon, he seemed to integrate well elsewhere. 00:35:20.000 --> 00:35:24.000 Aili and I each made trips out to visit, and he was happy to show us the campus 00:35:24.000 --> 00:35:28.000 where he taught and walked, the rivers that he fished, and even 00:35:28.000 --> 00:35:32.000 the flowers that he tended in the front of his apartment. 00:35:32.000 --> 00:35:36.000 We are all so thankful for the yearly trips that he made back to New England to visit our family. 00:35:36.000 --> 00:35:40.000 Vari, loved to read to his five grandchildren, 00:35:40.000 --> 00:35:44.000 to distract them from homework, and to teach them all sorts of other 00:35:44.000 --> 00:35:48.000 questionable habits. Just a few nights ago, my younger daughter 00:35:48.000 --> 00:35:52.000 reminded me that she would keep the bedbugs away, by beating them they 00:35:52.000 --> 00:35:56.000 are black and blue. 00:35:56.000 --> 00:35:59.000 We cannot even say how thankful our families are, 00:35:59.000 --> 00:35:62.000 that our dad has 00:36:02.000 --> 00:36:07.000 Western definitely meant a lot to him, and retiring last year was a hard decision. 00:36:07.000 --> 00:36:12.000 Even after he made that decision, he was not fully ready to leave the community. 00:36:12.000 --> 00:36:16.000 Among others, he kept active petitioning to continue using the walking track, 00:36:16.000 --> 00:36:20.000 and joined advisory boards and planning committees. He was sure to tell us 00:36:20.000 --> 00:36:24.000 when he was irritated with his hypotheticals and question raising. 00:36:24.000 --> 00:36:28.000 Our dad loved this campus and the people in it. 00:36:28.000 --> 00:36:31.000 Losing our father has been hard, but the continuing thread 00:36:31.000 --> 00:36:37.000 has helped our family so much, is filling in more details with the people he interacted with. 00:36:37.000 --> 00:36:40.000 I look forward to hearing even more of them, and meeting everyone here. 00:36:40.000 --> 00:36:44.000 And thank you for being a part of our fathers life. 00:36:44.000 --> 00:36:48.000 applause 00:36:48.000 --> 00:36:52.000 Well, this is the time where anyone who 00:36:52.000 --> 00:36:56.000 wishes to say a word, please come forward. 00:36:56.000 --> 00:36:60.000 The other thing I will say, from the beginning of 00:37:00.000 --> 00:37:04.000 organizing this event, students you where essential and valued 00:37:04.000 --> 00:37:08.000 to it. So if you see a bunch of middle agers like me, 00:37:08.000 --> 00:37:11.000 thats fine, we want to hear from you to, it is really important to all of us. 00:37:11.000 --> 00:37:16.000 My name is Steve Sunsett, and I have been 00:37:16.000 --> 00:37:19.000 blessed to know Dr H for a long time. 00:37:19.000 --> 00:37:24.000 I met him at Crush. Yeah, I am that guy. 00:37:24.000 --> 00:37:28.000 I had lots of beers with Dr H, 00:37:28.000 --> 00:37:32.000 I spent a lot of time with Dr H. I took him to his colonoscopy 00:37:32.000 --> 00:37:36.000 at six oclock in the morning, two hours before they were scheduled. 00:37:36.000 --> 00:37:39.000 A lot of time in the parking lot with the guard looking at us like we were 00:37:39.000 --> 00:37:44.000 from Mars. Took him to 00:37:44.000 --> 00:37:48.000 shuttles, so he could go to Portland to go see his 00:37:48.000 --> 00:37:52.000 children the day before 00:37:52.000 --> 00:37:56.000 and he would sleep at the airport because he did not want anything to come between 00:37:56.000 --> 00:37:60.000 him and that trip. He was not going to be late. 00:38:00.000 --> 00:38:03.000 00:38:03.000 --> 00:38:08.000 I loved Dr H, dearly. 00:38:08.000 --> 00:38:11.000 00:38:11.000 --> 00:38:16.000 Its not often that you meet somebody that challenges you 00:38:16.000 --> 00:38:19.000 listens to you, respects you, 00:38:19.000 --> 00:38:24.000 for who you are even though you are a Norwegian, and he is a Fin, 00:38:24.000 --> 00:38:28.000 it worked. 00:38:28.000 --> 00:38:31.000 My last 00:38:31.000 --> 00:38:36.000 day with Dr H was right before he left. 00:38:36.000 --> 00:38:40.000 Crush had kind of become 00:38:40.000 --> 00:38:44.000 not quite what is was when Josh owns it, so I offered 00:38:44.000 --> 00:38:48.000 to take him to a new place. So we 00:38:48.000 --> 00:38:52.000 went to Dallas to a tap-house there that he had never been to. 00:38:52.000 --> 00:38:56.000 and he really enjoyed it. 00:38:56.000 --> 00:38:60.000 And he had a beer, and he had two, which was rare. 00:39:00.000 --> 00:39:04.000 But unfortunately the last beer that he had, 00:39:04.000 --> 00:39:08.000 was a red beer, 00:39:08.000 --> 00:39:12.000 from Breakside Brewery in Portland. And it had 00:39:12.000 --> 00:39:16.000 was a habanero pepper beer. 00:39:16.000 --> 00:39:20.000 And I looked at him when he ordered it, 00:39:20.000 --> 00:39:24.000 and I thought really, you are going to drink that? 00:39:24.000 --> 00:39:28.000 Yeah, and so he did. 00:39:28.000 --> 00:39:32.000 He drank it, but he went up to the bartender afterwards 00:39:32.000 --> 00:39:36.000 and said, next time I come here, do not let me order that again. 00:39:36.000 --> 00:39:40.000 laughter 00:39:40.000 --> 00:39:44.000 And I was really looking forward to him doing that. 00:39:44.000 --> 00:39:48.000 And he did not come back. 00:39:48.000 --> 00:39:52.000 00:39:52.000 --> 00:39:56.000 I learned a lot about Dr H, his love for music 00:39:56.000 --> 00:39:60.000 his love for Western, 00:40:00.000 --> 00:40:03.000 his love for his friends. 00:40:03.000 --> 00:40:06.000 The music thing kind of caught me by surprise. We had lots of fights 00:40:06.000 --> 00:40:12.000 about Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young. Never did understand why he thought Crosby 00:40:12.000 --> 00:40:15.000 was the talent, but we will get over that. 00:40:15.000 --> 00:40:20.000 But I do remember Dr H when he was retiring, 00:40:20.000 --> 00:40:23.000 he asked me about it, and I went out of my way to 00:40:23.000 --> 00:40:28.000 sit down with him and talk about that. I said, you get to make that decision 00:40:28.000 --> 00:40:32.000 but I want you to think about this. 00:40:32.000 --> 00:40:36.000 Dr H and I have a person that is kind of 00:40:36.000 --> 00:40:40.000 means a lot to both of us in our lives, that has kind of crossed between 00:40:40.000 --> 00:40:44.000 Dr H and I. He is a young student, 00:40:44.000 --> 00:40:48.000 who has been here for quite a while and has moved on. Dr H 00:40:48.000 --> 00:40:52.000 had a large, large, 00:40:52.000 --> 00:40:56.000 part of 00:40:56.000 --> 00:40:60.000 who this gentleman has become. He is a baseball 00:41:00.000 --> 00:41:04.000 coach now, and when I sat down with him I said 00:41:04.000 --> 00:41:08.000 are you ready to let go 00:41:08.000 --> 00:41:12.000 of not having another student like Jake. 00:41:12.000 --> 00:41:16.000 And that kind of hit him a little bit, 00:41:16.000 --> 00:41:20.000 and he looked at me and he goes, you know that is really hard. 00:41:20.000 --> 00:41:24.000 That was one of the biggest success stories I think of his career. 00:41:24.000 --> 00:41:28.000 And I thought I got him 00:41:28.000 --> 00:41:32.000 I thought I was going to get him to stay, but 00:41:32.000 --> 00:41:36.000 that Yankee cheapness won out in me. 00:41:36.000 --> 00:41:40.000 But I can remember Dr H, and one of the great things about him was 00:41:40.000 --> 00:41:44.000 when he was retiring he said, everytime I walk on campus 00:41:44.000 --> 00:41:48.000 I see the sign as I walk on. Established in 00:41:52.000 --> 00:41:56.000 before I was here, and it will be here after I leave. 00:41:56.000 --> 00:41:60.000 One of his great things he used to say to me, 00:42:00.000 --> 00:42:04.000 and I probably screw this up, but he used to call him 00:42:04.000 --> 00:42:08.000 as St Paul McCartney would say, 00:42:08.000 --> 00:42:12.000 Obledi Obleda, life goes on. 00:42:12.000 --> 00:42:16.000 For us life goes on, 00:42:16.000 --> 00:42:20.000 and Bob's life is going to go on 00:42:20.000 --> 00:42:24.000 with me forever. Thank you. I cannot tell you a lot about Bob, 00:42:24.000 --> 00:42:28.000 but I can tell you about "Docta", Dr H, 00:42:28.000 --> 00:42:32.000 a lot, I think I met him, I want to say 00:42:32.000 --> 00:42:36.000 somewhere between 11 and 12 years ago. I had a few things to say 00:42:36.000 --> 00:42:40.000 about him, not just because I want to say what he did for me but just as 00:42:40.000 --> 00:42:44.000 a representation of what he did for students during his time here at Western. 00:42:44.000 --> 00:42:48.000 Well, to start off, I was born with bad luck, bad timing, 00:42:48.000 --> 00:42:52.000 and too much ambition. Above that one thing I was very fortunate to have 00:42:52.000 --> 00:42:56.000 was opportunity and incredible mentors. 00:42:56.000 --> 00:42:60.000 Dr H was one of those people for me, but judging by the number 00:43:00.000 --> 00:43:04.000 of people in this room, I assume you had similar experience with 00:43:04.000 --> 00:43:07.000 him. He was a great friend, and mentor. 00:43:07.000 --> 00:43:11.000 he knew what I was about, I knew what he was about, and we challenged each other. 00:43:11.000 --> 00:43:16.000 One thing that I thought was funny when I found out was that in order 00:43:16.000 --> 00:43:20.000 to be a high-school or elementary teacher, you have to go to school for 00:43:20.000 --> 00:43:24.000 teaching, education, etc but you are not required to have a teaching credential 00:43:24.000 --> 00:43:28.000 or experience in order to be a college professor. You need a level of 00:43:28.000 --> 00:43:32.000 higher education, Masters Degree, Doctorate, etc, but you do not need 00:43:32.000 --> 00:43:36.000 teaching experience per say, and that makes a lot of sense when I think back 00:43:36.000 --> 00:43:40.000 about some of the professors and classes that I had, that were less mentionable 00:43:40.000 --> 00:43:44.000 but it makes me feel very lucky, to have had Dr H 00:43:44.000 --> 00:43:48.000 and to have learned so much from him. My senior year, 00:43:48.000 --> 00:43:52.000 I was assigned a partner project by Dr H. I get this awful 00:43:52.000 --> 00:43:55.000 partner, he will not show up to our work times or respond to messages 00:43:55.000 --> 00:43:60.000 to get the work done, and the entire thing is a mess. 00:44:00.000 --> 00:44:04.000 I do the entire project, i do my partners work, and we 00:44:04.000 --> 00:44:08.000 give the best presentation. A week later, i got my grade 00:44:08.000 --> 00:44:12.000 and it was an F. I blow my lid, F - this, 00:44:12.000 --> 00:44:16.000 and storm out of the class. I didn't particularly take school seriously, 00:44:16.000 --> 00:44:20.000 if I am being honest. I was serious about the idea of education, 00:44:20.000 --> 00:44:22.000 and i was serious about the idea of development with school. 00:44:22.000 --> 00:44:25.000 the masses, and it was a simple stepping stone between me 00:44:25.000 --> 00:44:29.000 and world domination. But, stepping stone or not, 00:44:29.000 --> 00:44:33.000 I was going to have to destroy Dr H because my 00:44:36.000 --> 00:44:40.000 wasn't interested in a learning lesson right now. He came and he found me 00:44:40.000 --> 00:44:44.000 and he told me that the rules where clearly defined, that this was a partner project 00:44:44.000 --> 00:44:48.000 and that he could tell that I had done everything. For that reason, I got an F. 00:44:48.000 --> 00:44:51.000 He said that he had assigned me my partner on purpose, 00:44:51.000 --> 00:44:55.000 to challenge me and to see if I could get it done. Instead of an F, 00:44:55.000 --> 00:44:58.000 he allowed me to write the worlds longest paper. I got an A, 00:44:58.000 --> 00:44:64.000 and I am still mad at him for it. If you really knew him, 00:45:04.000 --> 00:45:07.000 you would know he was very, very fair. 00:45:07.000 --> 00:45:12.000 And that means he was hard on everyone, thats what his fairness was. 00:45:12.000 --> 00:45:16.000 But if you know him you also know he had a lot of bias, and favoritism. 00:45:16.000 --> 00:45:20.000 Because if he really did like you, then he was extra hard on you. 00:45:20.000 --> 00:45:23.000 He would push you, challenge you, 00:45:23.000 --> 00:45:26.000 he would ask questions you do not want to answer, and he would make 00:45:26.000 --> 00:45:29.000 you ask yourself questions that you do not want to ask. 00:45:29.000 --> 00:45:33.000 I know this because he pushed me, and others 00:45:33.000 --> 00:45:37.000 not to go the path of least resistance, but instead go the road less travelled. 00:45:37.000 --> 00:45:40.000 So as we sit here to love and remember our friend, 00:45:40.000 --> 00:45:44.000 I hope you also remember the ideas that he stood for. 00:45:44.000 --> 00:45:48.000 Everything he taught and shared with us, all the lessons 00:45:48.000 --> 00:45:52.000 all the big ideas, they are all still here. So, Dr H, 00:45:52.000 --> 00:45:56.000 My name is Gerry, 00:45:56.000 --> 00:45:60.000 I am not a member of the Crush crowd. I never had 00:46:00.000 --> 00:46:04.000 a drink with Bob at Crush, we never had a drink together. 00:46:04.000 --> 00:46:08.000 Yet I can say that in my 35 years of 00:46:08.000 --> 00:46:12.000 education, I have never 00:46:12.000 --> 00:46:16.000 experienced a professor who 00:46:16.000 --> 00:46:20.000 spent as much time immersed in the community, 00:46:20.000 --> 00:46:24.000 as Bob had. He was beyond 00:46:24.000 --> 00:46:28.000 belief. He 00:46:28.000 --> 00:46:32.000 had that vision of what was possible for everyone. 00:46:32.000 --> 00:46:36.000 My wife often reminds me, we were talking 00:46:36.000 --> 00:46:40.000 about Bob the other day, and she said Gerry, 00:46:40.000 --> 00:46:44.000 remember the times that you where late and I 00:46:44.000 --> 00:46:48.000 would say, how come you are an hour late? I said, 00:46:48.000 --> 00:46:52.000 I was talking to Bob, you understand? He was right by the door 00:46:52.000 --> 00:46:56.000 I couldn't get out! He was 00:46:56.000 --> 00:46:60.000 always there! Sometimes I would go the other way because bob was there. 00:47:00.000 --> 00:47:04.000 Because I had an appointment! But he couldn't help it. 00:47:04.000 --> 00:47:08.000 He was there for everyone. 00:47:08.000 --> 00:47:12.000 Bob, one of the first presents he gave me was this hat. 00:47:12.000 --> 00:47:16.000 He knit hats, this is my favorite hat. Been wearing it lately. 00:47:16.000 --> 00:47:20.000 I've been thinking about Bob as I walk the streets 00:47:20.000 --> 00:47:24.000 with my dog. We team taught together. 00:47:24.000 --> 00:47:28.000 That was a wonderful class, and 10 years ago I was 00:47:28.000 --> 00:47:32.000 retiring, and Bob said 00:47:32.000 --> 00:47:36.000 why don't you give your last lecture in the class. It was a health and physical 00:47:36.000 --> 00:47:40.000 education overview class. I said 00:47:40.000 --> 00:47:44.000 yeah, thats a good idea! So I came together and he brought in 00:47:44.000 --> 00:47:48.000 visual equipment from somebody on the campus, it was a really great 00:47:48.000 --> 00:47:52.000 opportunity to talk about what mattered. 00:47:52.000 --> 00:47:55.000 You know what, this is Bob's last lecture. 00:47:55.000 --> 00:47:58.000 I don't think he had a chance to give it. 00:47:58.000 --> 00:47:65.000 More important, you are giving the lecture, because all our lives where touched by Bob. 00:48:05.000 --> 00:48:10.000 And the lectures that we give, are not as important 00:48:10.000 --> 00:48:15.000 as how the people who receive those lectures continue in their life. 00:48:15.000 --> 00:48:16.000 00:48:16.000 --> 00:48:21.000 And thats what I think about him, cause of all the people that he has touched, 00:48:21.000 --> 00:48:24.000 and how many people are different because of it. 00:48:24.000 --> 00:48:29.000 It is said that, at the end of our life there are two 00:48:29.000 --> 00:48:34.000 important questions, if we are asked anything, that we may be asked. 00:48:34.000 --> 00:48:36.000 But that we have to ask ourselves, 00:48:36.000 --> 00:48:42.000 and one is, Did I love, and was I loved. 00:48:42.000 --> 00:48:44.000 00:48:44.000 --> 00:48:48.000 Look around, Bob was loved. 00:48:48.000 --> 00:48:52.000 And he loved you. 00:48:52.000 --> 00:48:57.000 In many different ways. I wanted to say to his son and daughter 00:48:57.000 --> 00:48:60.000 one of the reasons I often was late, 00:49:00.000 --> 00:49:04.000 was because he would get his pictures up. I never met you but I am so glad you are here. 00:49:04.000 --> 00:49:08.000 He would get his pictures out and say my daughter is doing this 00:49:08.000 --> 00:49:11.000 and I remember you where going and doing an internship and 00:49:11.000 --> 00:49:15.000 my son is doing this and I would hear these stories and they were wonderful, 00:49:15.000 --> 00:49:20.000 but meanwhile you know whats going through your mind when you are with someone you want to be with 00:49:20.000 --> 00:49:24.000 but you wife is waiting, your partners waiting, someone is waiting? 00:49:24.000 --> 00:49:28.000 But Bob, you know he had one thing that I tried to teach all of my 00:49:28.000 --> 00:49:32.000 life, is about living in the present moment. Well 00:49:32.000 --> 00:49:36.000 he was always in the now. He wasn't worried about what was next, 00:49:36.000 --> 00:49:40.000 He was truly living in the now, and his community was 00:49:40.000 --> 00:49:44.000 everywhere. Everywhere on this campus. He did not have to go home. 00:49:44.000 --> 00:49:47.000 Because he was home in the here and now. 00:49:47.000 --> 00:49:52.000 Thank you for this invitation to be here today, I will think about Bob 00:49:52.000 --> 00:49:56.000 when I wear this hat, and I will walk with him when I go for a walk 00:49:56.000 --> 00:49:57.000 everyday. Thank you. 00:49:57.000 --> 00:49:61.000 Hello, my name is Justin Dodge, and I am a current student here 00:50:01.000 --> 00:50:04.000 at Western, in my senior year. 00:50:04.000 --> 00:50:08.000 I am strictly shooting from the hip. I apologize I did not have anything 00:50:08.000 --> 00:50:12.000 prepared, but one thing that has kind of been 00:50:12.000 --> 00:50:16.000 indicated throughout everyones comments is that people are drawn 00:50:16.000 --> 00:50:20.000 to Dr H, whether it is through classes or through 00:50:20.000 --> 00:50:24.000 colleague events or what have you. That 00:50:24.000 --> 00:50:28.000 is something that always struck me, cause people always gravitate to people 00:50:28.000 --> 00:50:32.000 who are genuine and have everyones best interests at heart. 00:50:32.000 --> 00:50:36.000 And that is what I have learned from Dr H, and though 00:50:36.000 --> 00:50:40.000 my drawing to him was actually kind of 00:50:40.000 --> 00:50:44.000 sort of long distance. How I got to Western Oregon is 00:50:44.000 --> 00:50:48.000 I was actually going to Chemeketa Community College and that is where 00:50:48.000 --> 00:50:52.000 I met Dr Linda Stonetyper, and I was trying to figure out 00:50:52.000 --> 00:50:56.000 where my next step was going to be, and at that moment I planned 00:50:56.000 --> 00:50:60.000 to go to Linfield, because I lived 17 blocks away. 00:51:00.000 --> 00:51:04.000 Well through a couple conversations with her she said, give Western 00:51:04.000 --> 00:51:08.000 a shot. I mean you have to do whats best for you but just look. 00:51:08.000 --> 00:51:12.000 And I said ok, I came down, looked and enjoyed everything that I saw 00:51:12.000 --> 00:51:16.000 and I decided I am going to go to Western. 00:51:16.000 --> 00:51:20.000 I told Dr Stonstile the great news and she was ecstatic. 00:51:20.000 --> 00:51:24.000 and said great, we have to see if we can get Dr H as your advisor. He is going to be the best 00:51:24.000 --> 00:51:28.000 for you. I said ok, you know better than me. 00:51:28.000 --> 00:51:32.000 Roughly a week later I met Dr H 00:51:32.000 --> 00:51:36.000 and I knew immediately that he was perfect for me. 00:51:36.000 --> 00:51:40.000 With me being stubborn at times and his 00:51:40.000 --> 00:51:44.000 very east coast, direct demeanor, he wasn't afraid to tell you what you needed 00:51:44.000 --> 00:51:48.000 to hear, and not what you wanted to hear. 00:51:48.000 --> 00:51:52.000 That being said, one of 00:51:52.000 --> 00:51:56.000 my last interactions with Dr H was actually roughly 100 ft 00:51:56.000 --> 00:51:60.000 over there in those chairs where we had a very one way 00:52:00.000 --> 00:52:04.000 conversation about how he told me I was not going to wait 00:52:04.000 --> 00:52:08.000 a year to apply to grad school, and I was going to do it immediately. 00:52:08.000 --> 00:52:12.000 Ok. 00:52:12.000 --> 00:52:16.000 But that being said, when I talk about people being 00:52:16.000 --> 00:52:20.000 drawn to him, he was also very pivotal 00:52:20.000 --> 00:52:24.000 kicking me out of his arena twice. He was very pivotal 00:52:24.000 --> 00:52:28.000 in my moving out of exercise science and moving to IDM 00:52:28.000 --> 00:52:32.000 because it was his plan that that would give me the freedom to create 00:52:32.000 --> 00:52:36.000 a better application for grad school. 00:52:36.000 --> 00:52:40.000 and, I just can not thank 00:52:40.000 --> 00:52:44.000 anymore for being that stronghold 00:52:44.000 --> 00:52:49.000 being the opposition to my stubbornness that has driven me thus far 00:52:49.000 --> 00:52:53.000 and now I stand here, and I have one more term, and I am waiting for acceptance 00:52:53.000 --> 00:52:56.000 to grad school. 00:52:56.000 --> 00:52:60.000 Like I said, thank you Bob for everything you have done, 00:53:00.000 --> 00:53:04.000 obviously you have touched everybody, and people that are not here in a special way. 00:53:04.000 --> 00:53:08.000 My name is Mike Laurie. I had the privilege of 00:53:08.000 --> 00:53:11.000 being in his first class here at Western. 00:53:11.000 --> 00:53:15.000 Psychology of Sport Play. If you ever had the chance to take that class with him 00:53:15.000 --> 00:53:20.000 that was a mind bender, he flipped every idea that you had 00:53:20.000 --> 00:53:25.000 and made you challenge it. But what I got more from him was after I graduated. 00:53:25.000 --> 00:53:29.000 I graduated with my Bachelors degree and then also with my Masters degree here 00:53:29.000 --> 00:53:33.000 I had a continuous relationship with him as a professional. 00:53:33.000 --> 00:53:35.000 And, whats 00:53:35.000 --> 00:53:40.000 stands out as after my first time teaching when I was teaching elementary PE in Salem,, 00:53:40.000 --> 00:53:45.000 and it did not end the way I wanted it to, and I met with and talked with him about things 00:53:45.000 --> 00:53:47.000 and he gave me a phrase that I 00:53:47.000 --> 00:53:52.000 have given other people and I constantly say to myself, you are where you are 00:53:52.000 --> 00:53:56.000 now make it work. So I used that, I was not very happy 00:53:56.000 --> 00:53:60.000 but I used that and I was like look. I am here, I am going to go to grad school, 00:54:00.000 --> 00:54:05.000 and get this finished, and I am going to take this tool I have now and make my life better because of it. 00:54:05.000 --> 00:54:09.000 And I cannot thank him enough for that, 00:54:09.000 --> 00:54:12.000 and you know it was just a special relationship I had with him. 00:54:12.000 --> 00:54:16.000 And I know I will carry those thoughts and keep passing on that knowledge to other people 00:54:16.000 --> 00:54:20.000 because even though his time with me was not long, 00:54:20.000 --> 00:54:24.000 the memories and the usefulness of all those pieces of advice 00:54:24.000 --> 00:54:29.000 I can pass on and keep that memory going. 00:54:29.000 --> 00:54:32.000 In 2000 I graduated from OSU with my 00:54:32.000 --> 00:54:36.000 PHD and took a job at University of Rhode Island. 00:54:36.000 --> 00:54:40.000 And I get there, and I hear that I have taken 00:54:40.000 --> 00:54:44.000 somebody's place, and his name is Dr H. 00:54:44.000 --> 00:54:48.000 I don't care. 00:54:48.000 --> 00:54:51.000 I got the job yes! 00:54:51.000 --> 00:54:55.000 All year, well Dr H said, well Dr H did, 00:54:55.000 --> 00:54:59.000 well Dr H was, are you kidding me! 00:54:59.000 --> 00:54:66.000 Who is this guy? And I stayed for two years and then I leave for University Of Arizona. 00:55:06.000 --> 00:55:10.000 And I am chair of the search committee, 00:55:10.000 --> 00:55:13.000 and Dr H applies. 00:55:13.000 --> 00:55:16.000 and I get to have breakfast with him, and 00:55:16.000 --> 00:55:20.000 we ended up not hiring him. And I look back at that and I guess I am 00:55:20.000 --> 00:55:24.000 sad but yet I am glad? But we had this really strong 00:55:24.000 --> 00:55:27.000 relationship for the next few years as 00:55:27.000 --> 00:55:30.000 he had applied for the job at Arizona, and I got it. 00:55:30.000 --> 00:55:34.000 And he didn't get the URA job. And then a year later, 00:55:34.000 --> 00:55:40.000 the Western job opened up. He had applied for that job. So did I, and I got it. 00:55:40.000 --> 00:55:44.000 I am like, really, what is this about? 00:55:44.000 --> 00:55:47.000 And then the next year he got the job. 00:55:47.000 --> 00:55:51.000 And what you said Gavin about over and next, 00:55:51.000 --> 00:55:55.000 is exactly what he did, because he comes into my office, 00:55:55.000 --> 00:55:60.000 that summer and he sits down, 00:56:00.000 --> 00:56:04.000 and I am thinking, I don't even know how to have this conversation 00:56:04.000 --> 00:56:07.000 I am really uncomfortable because we had this relationship thing 00:56:07.000 --> 00:56:11.000 that we don't even know we have. I don't know if he knows, 00:56:11.000 --> 00:56:15.000 and it was lovely, because it was next. 00:56:15.000 --> 00:56:20.000 And there was no issue, and we have 00:56:20.000 --> 00:56:23.000 a great colleague. We were so lucky to have him. 00:56:23.000 --> 00:56:28.000 And then, you know I feel so fortunate that I got to be part of 00:56:28.000 --> 00:56:30.000 his next, and to have him as a colleague. 00:56:30.000 --> 00:56:34.000 Now I have to share a story. So after his passing and 00:56:34.000 --> 00:56:37.000 the first day of school comes around this term, 00:56:37.000 --> 00:56:41.000 I look at the students and say class, we have to have a moment! 00:56:41.000 --> 00:56:45.000 We have to share some Dr H stories! 00:56:45.000 --> 00:56:48.000 A lot of them where very funny, but there was one that was just perfect. 00:56:48.000 --> 00:56:54.000 So one of the students comes in, and I think it was last fall, 00:56:54.000 --> 00:56:60.000 and Dr H sees him here in the wellness center and asks, did you get your Flu shot? 00:57:00.000 --> 00:57:04.000 No, I don't really believe in those. 00:57:04.000 --> 00:57:06.000 And Dr H said, 00:57:06.000 --> 00:57:12.000 well then don't be around anybody you love! 00:57:12.000 --> 00:57:16.000 And then the rest of the time he saw him that fall and winter, 00:57:16.000 --> 00:57:18.000 Dr H didn't go near him, and all he did was this. 00:57:18.000 --> 00:57:22.000 laughter 00:57:22.000 --> 00:57:25.000 Hello everyone, I am a former student of Dr H's, 00:57:25.000 --> 00:57:28.000 during my undergrad. I did not know we were going to 00:57:28.000 --> 00:57:32.000 have an open mic, so I have been here texting away in a notepad just 00:57:32.000 --> 00:57:35.000 with some brief things to share. Personally, for 00:57:35.000 --> 00:57:41.000 Dr H, he was very impactful for me in expanding my mind and opening my heart. 00:57:41.000 --> 00:57:44.000 Coming to Western Oregon I didn't know 00:57:44.000 --> 00:57:48.000 how pervasive some of the personal misconceptions and 00:57:48.000 --> 00:57:51.000 wring perceptions and bias that I have 00:57:51.000 --> 00:57:54.000 had harbored, just through upbringing and my own personal pursuits, 00:57:54.000 --> 00:57:59.000 and in showing how much Dr H cared, he challenged me on those, 00:57:59.000 --> 00:57:64.000 he struck up conversations that were difficult, and he stirred my mind 00:58:04.000 --> 00:58:08.000 in doing so as I said he expanded my mind and opened up my heart 00:58:08.000 --> 00:58:12.000 to see things in a new light, and to do so in love 00:58:12.000 --> 00:58:16.000 and I will always remember 00:58:16.000 --> 00:58:20.000 this, my wife and I still laugh. If you had his 00:58:20.000 --> 00:58:24.000 Psych and Sport class, the South Park episode 00:58:24.000 --> 00:58:28.000 with Stans dad drunkenly stumbling at a little league game after he had just been 00:58:28.000 --> 00:58:32.000 pummeled by another parent and him saying, i thought this was 00:58:32.000 --> 00:58:36.000 America! Why whats wrong I thought this was America? 00:58:36.000 --> 00:58:40.000 In doing so making a fool of himself. The message behind that 00:58:40.000 --> 00:58:44.000 lesson, just because we can do something doesn't 00:58:44.000 --> 00:58:48.000 always mean that we should. A lot of us here at the university, a lot of students, 00:58:48.000 --> 00:58:52.000 we have a great deal of intellect and knowledge and some wonderful 00:58:52.000 --> 00:58:56.000 skills and abilities and he always challenged his students to 00:58:56.000 --> 00:58:60.000 use them in a responsible way, and to take academic and personal 00:59:00.000 --> 00:59:04.000 responsibility and to be a blessing with those. He 00:59:04.000 --> 00:59:08.000 did so and he constantly encouraged me to do so and 00:59:08.000 --> 00:59:12.000 I loved his correction because you could 00:59:12.000 --> 00:59:16.000 say its east coast mentality, but I love that he would approach you and 00:59:16.000 --> 00:59:20.000 get straight to the point. He would approach me after basketball games when I 00:59:20.000 --> 00:59:24.000 first started doing public announcing, and he would give me these suggestions and I remember 00:59:24.000 --> 00:59:28.000 specifically one time he said stop omlid with 00:59:28.000 --> 00:59:32.000 the left hand, Tanner is left handed, just say Omlid for two, 00:59:32.000 --> 00:59:36.000 It was just little things like that. I had no clue Tanner 00:59:36.000 --> 00:59:40.000 was left handed, i was like woah he shoots with his left hand a lot I will 00:59:40.000 --> 00:59:44.000 comment on that. He would just make 00:59:44.000 --> 00:59:48.000 these things abundantly clear, and he admonished 00:59:48.000 --> 00:59:52.000 with boldness, and thats something I need to apply in my life constantly 00:59:52.000 --> 00:59:56.000 Three weeks before passing Dr H met with me over 00:59:56.000 --> 00:59:60.000 there in that lobby to critic my resume and CV. He 01:00:00.000 --> 01:00:04.000 submitted a letter of recommendation for me for a PHD program 01:00:04.000 --> 01:00:08.000 I recently was accepted in at University of Oklahoma 01:00:08.000 --> 01:00:12.000 I am very grateful for Dr H's contribution to my 01:00:12.000 --> 01:00:16.000 life, and the path that 01:00:16.000 --> 01:00:20.000 the good Lord is going to lead me on. I am indebted to him 01:00:20.000 --> 01:00:24.000 and how willing he was to reach out 01:00:24.000 --> 01:00:28.000 and to impact each and every student in the very specific 01:00:28.000 --> 01:00:32.000 and individualized approach. That shared so much and its a testament 01:00:32.000 --> 01:00:36.000 to his commitments to the betterment of society and of 01:00:36.000 --> 01:00:40.000 students everywhere. Yeah, that selfless 01:00:40.000 --> 01:00:44.000 and unceasing care for others, that is Dr H for me. 01:00:44.000 --> 01:00:48.000 I am a math professor and a few years ago 01:00:48.000 --> 01:00:52.000 I became Faculty Senate President. A bunch of women 01:00:52.000 --> 01:00:56.000 and I, well we actually had a plot to take over. Its going pretty well. 01:00:56.000 --> 01:00:60.000 We did not 01:01:00.000 --> 01:01:04.000 account for Bob, and he was on executive committee so 01:01:04.000 --> 01:01:08.000 executive committee meetings would go about like this. I would say about 01:01:08.000 --> 01:01:12.000 a half a sentence, and the other women in the room would sort of finish the 01:01:12.000 --> 01:01:16.000 next quarter of it and we would all agree. 01:01:16.000 --> 01:01:20.000 You know, thats how things are. Bob would go, no wait a minute. 01:01:20.000 --> 01:01:24.000 And so thats how they 01:01:24.000 --> 01:01:28.000 all went, and it was really great for me to 01:01:28.000 --> 01:01:32.000 learn from Bob, to think about other perspectives. 01:01:32.000 --> 01:01:36.000 And frankly he saved my ass so many times, 01:01:36.000 --> 01:01:40.000 cause had he not gotten me to think of other perspectives, 01:01:40.000 --> 01:01:44.000 I would have gone in public and really said the wrong thing a bunch of different times. 01:01:44.000 --> 01:01:48.000 And so I am always grateful to Bob for that. The last time I saw Bob he was 01:01:48.000 --> 01:01:52.000 walking that way along this track, and when I come to the 01:01:52.000 --> 01:01:56.000 Health and Wellness Center, and I walk up these stairs I am still having trouble 01:01:56.000 --> 01:01:60.000 not looking over my left shoulder to see Bob sitting there 01:02:00.000 --> 01:02:01.000 at his table. 01:02:01.000 --> 01:02:04.000 I have to say something about a different dimension I had with Bob. Bob and I had 01:02:04.000 --> 01:02:08.000 very deep roots in the Finnish American community, 01:02:08.000 --> 01:02:12.000 and our communities, if you know the Finnish community, 01:02:12.000 --> 01:02:16.000 they are divided politically and intellectually, so we had some very fun 01:02:16.000 --> 01:02:20.000 discussions about all of that. Plus I loved to take cheap shots 01:02:20.000 --> 01:02:24.000 at Throw, the Patriots, and the Celtics. 01:02:24.000 --> 01:02:28.000 Although we could find some ground with the Celtics given the history of Jojo White, 01:02:28.000 --> 01:02:32.000 so we found some things 01:02:32.000 --> 01:02:36.000 common ground, but we would always have some disagreement 01:02:36.000 --> 01:02:40.000 and whatever, but then we would always get together and talk about 01:02:40.000 --> 01:02:44.000 our Finnish heritage. He was mostly from New England I think, 01:02:44.000 --> 01:02:48.000 me mostly from Massachusetts. Finnish communities, strong communities, 01:02:48.000 --> 01:02:52.000 in parts of Massachusetts, Pittsburgh, and others. 01:02:52.000 --> 01:02:56.000 All my Finnish people came from Minnesota, working their 01:02:56.000 --> 01:02:60.000 iron mines during some bad times, so we 01:03:00.000 --> 01:03:04.000 compared notes, and I said to him one time you are the only Fin 01:03:04.000 --> 01:03:08.000 I know that speaks with a yankee accent. Thats kind of interesting. 01:03:08.000 --> 01:03:11.000 And I would tell him stories he liked, one story he liked, I 01:03:11.000 --> 01:03:16.000 told about my mom, who was 90 years old, and she keeps saying well because of the 01:03:16.000 --> 01:03:20.000 kind of awful politics from her point of view that have taken over America, 01:03:20.000 --> 01:03:24.000 she says you know I still write to cousins in Finland, 01:03:24.000 --> 01:03:28.000 and we could go to Finland! And I said well mom, theres a concept 01:03:28.000 --> 01:03:32.000 there, that I am not sure I can handle, its called winter. 01:03:32.000 --> 01:03:36.000 And I said mom, and Bob 01:03:36.000 --> 01:03:40.000 had told a similar story about this, handling winter, its very dark, very 01:03:40.000 --> 01:03:44.000 cold, very nasty in Finland, and I told him what my mother had said, 01:03:44.000 --> 01:03:48.000 about hamming the weather in Finland, as we were getting 01:03:48.000 --> 01:03:52.000 nostalgia and sentimental about our Finnish heritage together, 01:03:52.000 --> 01:03:56.000 and I said mom, how do these crazy Finns handle 01:03:56.000 --> 01:03:60.000 winter over there? Not necessarily in this order son, 01:04:00.000 --> 01:04:04.000 sauna, vodka, and tango. 01:04:04.000 --> 01:04:08.000 And I said Tango? And she said oh yeah they love tango. 01:04:08.000 --> 01:04:12.000 and she says, you know Dean, 01:04:12.000 --> 01:04:16.000 you know Tango is kind of an early form of foreplay. 01:04:16.000 --> 01:04:20.000 Bob liked that story. 01:04:20.000 --> 01:04:24.000 laughter 01:04:24.000 --> 01:04:28.000 So Bob and I would disagree, but always come back together and 01:04:28.000 --> 01:04:32.000 get a little nostalgic and sentimental about his Finnish heritage, 01:04:32.000 --> 01:04:36.000 a little different dimension about Bob, I thought I'd share that with you, 01:04:36.000 --> 01:04:40.000 And I would say to Bob wherever he might be, - finnish quote- 01:04:40.000 --> 01:04:44.000 I am not seeing any additional speakers, 01:04:44.000 --> 01:04:45.000 why don't we take the memorial walk. 01:04:45.000 --> 01:04:52.000 music 01:04:52.000 --> 01:04:56.000 music 01:04:56.000 --> 01:04:60.000 music 01:05:00.000 --> 01:05:04.000 music 01:05:04.000 --> 01:05:08.000 music 01:05:08.000 --> 01:05:12.000 music 01:05:12.000 --> 01:05:16.000 music 01:05:16.000 --> 01:05:20.000 music 01:05:20.000 --> 01:05:21.000 music