Bailey Thompson | News Editor

Dr. Robert Hautala, or “Dr H.” as he was affectionately called by his students, was for many a beloved professor of exercise science at Western who passed away on Dec. 14, 2018. Dr. Hautala spent his final days visiting family for the holidays in Rhode Island.

As was written in his obituary in the Glaucester Times, Dr. Hautala was born Jan. 19, 1948 and grew up in Rockport, Massachusetts. After earning his bachelor’s degree at Springfield College, his master’s degree from The University of Denver, and his doctorate at The University of Northern Colorado, Dr. Hautala had a successful career teaching physical education at a number of institutions.

For the last 14 years before his retirement, Dr. Hautala worked at Western Oregon University. Some of the communities that Dr. Hautala was especially connected to at Western were the Division of Health and Exercise Science, the Western athletics program and the Honors Program.

Before retiring in 2018, Dr. Hautala gave an interview with Lisa Catto which stated that Dr. Hautala “served as a faculty senator and on a lot of committees, including the Executive Committee, the Pastega Awards Committee, the Interdisciplinary Studies Committee, two University Professional Learning Communities, the Honors Committee, the Maurice Initiative Prize Committee and the University Center Advisory Committee.”

An active member of the Western community, Dr. Hautala was known by many to be faithful in watching nearly all of the athletics events and every one of the women’s basketball and volleyball games during his 14 years at Western. Outside of his life in Monmouth, Dr. Hautala was also very passionate about fly-fishing and learning about his Finnish heritage.

As one of his colleagues and his close personal friends, English professor and Honors Program Director Dr. Gavin Keulks has an extremely high regard for the character of Dr. Hautala.

“Bob was an honest and loyal man who lived, like his mentor Thoreau, close to his values,” said Keulks. “He valued his children, students, and friends, and was always available for a talk or a drink. More than that, he was present. He never made you feel like he had something better to do when talking with you.”

In addition to his many qualities as a friend, Dr. Keulks also expanded on the ways that his presence was impactful to the school as a whole.

“His attendance at the gym, faculty senate, arts performances and sporting events was steadfast and definitely made Western special,” said Keulks. “He will be missed by many, and I still struggle to accept he’s gone.”

In order to honor the legacy of Dr. Hautala at Western, a scholarship fund has been set up in his name and a celebration of life will be hosted during Winter Term, although the exact date has not been decided upon yet. Dr. Hautala’s wishes were that there would not be a funeral, so a memorial service will be held instead.

For those interested in donating to the Bob “Dr. H.” Hautala Student Success Fund to honor Dr. Hautala’s memory, they can send a check with “Dr. H” or “Hautala” written on it to the WOU Foundation, or they can donate online at https://wou.edu/give. On the donation page, use the drop-down menu to select “other” and write Dr. Hautala’s name in the tribute section.

More details about Dr. Hautala’s celebration of life will be released at a later date.

Contact the author at howlnews@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of Gavin Keulks