Obituary: Robert “Bob” Williams

Bob’s education began with a BA from the University of Virginia. He formed lifelong friendships with a group of intellectually-driven classmates, named The Echols Scholars, with whom he maintained frequent correspondence and close camaraderie. His studies continued into graduate school at the University of Chicago.

Working for a more peaceful, just world with an unwavering spirit, he helped organize resistance and protests to stop the war in Vietnam and sacrificed much personally to end the conflict. He was a draft resister, a conscientious objector and a “prisoner of war” at McNeil Island Penitentiary for 15 months. When the federal agents came to arrest him for refusing to serve in a war he vehemently opposed, dozens of Bob’s friends and students came to stand with him on the courthouse steps in Portland. When the agents asked for Bob Williams to step forward and surrender himself, one by one, both men and women in the assembled crowd, raised their hands and proclaimed, “I’m Bob Williams.” Following the serving of his sentence, President Gerald Ford gave him a full pardon and his record was expunged.

Bob’s history was colorful, to say the least. He studied boat building at Bates Technical Institute in Tacoma, Wash., and worked as a boat builder, with a particular interest in wooden boats. He was a firewood-cutter, a newspaper-deliverer, a printer at his family’s Richmond, Va., printshop, The Liberty Press. Living a life defined by his unwavering dedication to education, Bob was the embodiment of intellectual honesty. As a professor of philosophy at Portland State University and an English teacher at Hood River Valley High School, he touched the lives of countless students throughout his career and beyond. His dedication to reading, and to ensuring books were available to all who wanted to read, was reflected in his more than 20 year tenure on the Hood River Library Board.

With ingenuity and spirit of eternal curiosity, Bob and Jeanette founded BookDarts in 1994, becoming one of his lasting achievements. Together they created a company that reflected his passion for reading and remembering, turning an idea into a successful business. Bob left an indelible mark on the literary world, without ever compromising the integrity of the page.

Those who knew and loved Bob will treasure him as a brother, a father, a grandfather, a friend, a lifelong student, a lover of humanity, a rebel spirit, a passionate advocate for the abused and disenfranchised, a voracious reader, a writer of letters, an agitator to the overly-comfortable, an avid walker, a born-listener, and a rabid baseball fan. (Go Mariners!)

To know Bob was to understand and value his gift of personal engagement, his charm, his curiosity, concern and interest in the thoughts and opinions of those around him. He will be dearly missed.

“If not for love, then why?”

“Patience is a form of love.”

“Together we’re a genius.”

— Bob Williams

A time to celebrate Bob’s life and legacy will be held on Wednesday, Aug. 23 from 4-7 p.m. at Solera Brewing in Parkdale, Ore. All are welcome, as Bob always loved a lively party. Visit www.andersonstributecenter.com/hood-river to leave a note of condolence for the family. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to The Hood River County Library. www.hoodriverlibrary.org/donate.