Lt Robert Hamill
FIRST LIEUTENANT ROBERT HAMILL MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP
Robert M. Hamill was born in Clatskanie, Oregon, on June 15, 1897. He graduated with honors in engineering and journalism from Oregon State College in 1923. As an undergraduate student in chemistry, he was a laboratory bench partner with Linus Pauling, who later became a two-time Nobel Prize winner. During his senior year at OSC, Bob was the night editor of the campus newspaper, The Barometer. While a student he was a leader in providing a memorial on the OSU campus to World War I veterans.
Bob came from a military family. His father fought on both sides during Boer War and his father-in-law served during the Civil War. Bob entered the Army in 1917 before the start of World War I and saw duty at Scofield Barracks near Pearl Harbor, where he trained troops.
In 1921 he married Ruth Pace and together they raised two sons, Caldwell and Robert. Following Ruth’s death, he married Emmy Oldright in 1973.
After the war and college, he taught at Corbett, Oregon in 1923-24, then became principal and superintendent at Cascade Locks the following year. During the period 1925 to 1940 he was a teacher and head basketball coach at Benson Polytechnic High School in Portland. From 1926 to 1932 he served as member and chairman of the District 29 School Board in Multnomah County. In 1934 he obtained a master’s degree from the University of Oregon. He was chief administrator of vocational education for war production training for the Portland School District from 1941 to 1945. He was the supervising engineer for the construction of the Harvey
Aluminum Company plant in The Dalles in the 1950s. He worked for the Portland City Engineer’s office and was chief of engineering for the Oregon Fish Commission from 1958 until he retired.
Bob was a past master of the Lents Masonic Lodge in Portland and was an active member of many organizations, including Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity, the Military Officer Association, American Legion, National Rifle Association, Beaver Club, OSU Alumni Association, Benton County
Historical Society, Horner Museum, and Westminster Presbyterian
Church in Portland.
He was an avid fisherman, hunter, gardener, photographer, writer, poet, and historian. He and his wife were fond of traveling and took trips all over the world. He was known for his excellent scenic photographs and was a strong supporter of OSU athletics.
Bob died in 1993 at the age of ninety-five. He was proud to be an American and a veteran and he didn’t hesitate to let people know it. The scholarship is funded through the generous donations of his longtime friends and members of the Military Officers Club of Corvallis.