Robert C. Hawley ’55 died in October 2023, in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
(The following was provided by Daily Hampshire Gazette in October 21, 2023:)
Robert C. Hawley ’55
Las Cruces, NM – Bob Hawley died peacefully in Las Cruces, New Mexico, with his beloved Sue Ann Collins at his side.
Born September 18, 1933, Bob grew up in Ames, IA, and Bolton, MA, and spent a significant portion of his childhood in Rockport, MA. He attended Bowdoin College, and spent two years serving in the US Army. A lifelong educator, Bob taught English at the secondary school level before pursuing an Ed. D., at the University of Massachusetts, which he earned in 1972. Bob was a pioneer in the promotion of students taking an active role in their own learning, and teachers taking an enabling role; concepts that are more important than ever today. As the founder of Education Research Associates, Bob worked as an independent educational consultant and author of numerous books on teaching, including Human Values in the Classroom, Developing Human Potential, and Assessing Teacher Performance. Equally forward-thinking in work-life balance, Bob ran Education Research Associates out of his home in Amherst, MA, in collaboration with Isabel Hawley and Susan Hawley, and with the assistance of his children, who fondly remember not being at all sure what their father did for a living.
Bob was an accomplished and prolific sailor, racing and cruising countless boats throughout his life, from the many small boats he raced in his teens and twenties, to the family Bullseye he raced to 2nd place in the national championships, to the larger cruising boats in which he sailed the Maine coast. He shared his love of sailing with family and friends, and many have stories to share of spending time in the cockpit, perhaps reaching for a windward mark, or having cocktails at anchor in a secluded Maine cove.
A devoted father and husband, Bob was richly blessed with loving spouses, each of whom he cared for until their deaths. He was preceded in death by Isabel Hawley, Susan Hawley, and Mary McCarthy.
In addition to Sue Ann, Bob leaves six children and stepchildren, and eight grandchildren.