Robert K. Hamilton
Robert K. Hamilton, 85, of Bellevue Washington died Saturday October 18th with his family by his side.
He was born Jan. 1st, 1929, in Mason City, Iowa to Floyd and Bertha Hamilton. He received his B.A. in English from Walla Walla College in 1955 and his M. A. in Educational Administration also from Walla Walla College in 1962.
He had three children from his first marriage- Robert K. Hamilton JR, Brian Hamilton and Doug Hamilton. Bob took his three children to Pakistan where he served the people there. He established what proved to be the first “Community College” on the Indian subcontinent in the province of West Pakistan. In cooperation with CARE representatives in West Pakistan, he developed a process for capturing methane gas from animal waste, a system which was then used for cooking and heating in rural areas.
In 1957 Robert was asked and agreed to serve as Minister for Minority Affairs in the first cabinet of Field Marshall Ayub Khan of Pakistan. In this capacity, he was also active in helping to develop a sweeping plan for the reform of Pakistani public education at all levels. This reform plan was later inaugurated by President Zulfidar Ali Bhutto.
Robert also served in Portland, Oregon at Portland Adventist Academy as principal and business manager for three years.
He was married to Patricia Hamilton. He then went on to be employed at the first urban Job Corps Center in Astoria, Oregon under the Kennedy-Johnson administrations “War on Poverty” program.
They had a daughter, Cyndi and moved to Bellevue, Washington in the spring of 1968 where he started at Bellevue Community College. They also had a son, Grant.
While at Bellevue Community College he designed, organized and implemented a cooperative program between local high school districts and B.C.C., which allows high school students to enroll in regular college courses, taught by their own instructors in their own schools at minimal cost. This later became what we now know as Running Start.
He was Dean for Academic and Instructional Administration at Bellevue College. He is the only administrator to have served the college in both student services and instruction, and who served under all seven of B.C.C.’s presidents at the time he retired.
Robert’s memberships include Regional Coordinator for the National Council of Instructional Administrators, the Academy of Political and Social Sciences, The American Association of School Administrators, the National Honor Society-Phi Beta Kappa.
He was also a member of the American Rose Society and Past President of Bellevue Lions Club where he was a member from 1992-2000.
He was a rose gardener and expert. He loved to share his knowledge with others on roses. He loved spending time with his family, which was his greatest joy.
He is survived by his loving wife Patricia and his children:
Robert K. Hamilton Jr.
Brian Hamilton
Doug Hamilton
Cyndi Campbell (Matt Campbell)
Grant Hamilton (Shannon Hamilton)
Grandchildren:
Angela Hamilton
Kimberly Hamilton
Leith Hamilton
Trent Hamilton
Mitch Campbell (Kayla Campbell)
Tyler Campbell (Cassie Campbell)
Madison Campbell
Abbie Hamilton
Erica Hamilton
Great Grandchildren:
Lexi Hamilton
James Hamilton
Jackson Campbell
A public memorial will be held in November at Bellevue Seventh Day Adventist Church.
12 Responses to “Robert K. Hamilton”
Leave a Reply
Please be respectful. Disrespectful comments will not be published
When you have successfully submitted a comment, look in the space above to see your comment.
Your comment is awaiting moderation.
If you do not see your comment, click HERE
So very sorry for your loss. May the peace that surpasses all understanding comfort and sustain your family.
Our thoughts and prayers are with you.
Our thoughts are with the Hamilton Family..Grandpa Bob was a great man.
I am very sorry for your loss. Bob took the chance on hiring me right out of graduate school in 1986. I have spent the last 28 years serving students at Bellevue College because of him. In addition to his leadership, I remember his kind heart and loving attention to the roses that he tended on campus. Bob’s work at Bellevue College is still helping to change students’ lives every day.
love you Bob!
Our deepest regrets to Patricia and family. We knew Bob through family and always appreciated his humor and attitude. He was always willing to give to others, gave great counsel and advice, and always put his family first. I once used his business acumen and will miss him as a resource. We will think of him often
He was a wonderful man to work with and it was my pleasure to do so when he came in as interim director of the Library Media Center at Bellevue College in the late 90’s.
So sorry for your loss, we will always have the roses here at the school to remember him by.
I just want to say thank you Bob for getting to know you and for helping get in BCC. I enjoy that I was able to spend some time and chat with you. And I look forward to seeing you in Heaven when Jesus come. Hamilton family he was a great man who young people.
Pat, Cindy and Grant and the rest od the family we did not know,
We are so very sorry to hear of Bob’s passing. Your family is so precious in my memories. Although we have not been in contact in years, I will always remember your kindnesses to both my Goo and Gee families. We love you all and know that Bob is just so safe in God’s loving care. We pray that He will grant you all peace, that He will care for you in every way. We will be unable to attend Bob’s memorial service but will be there in spirit. We love you.
Roy and Bennie Gee
Love and sympathy to all of Bob’s family. We have enjoyed knowing Bob and admiring his wisdom and graciousness at church.
What a privilege to have known Bob and call him my friend. I believe he was one of the nicest people I’ve ever known. My sincere condolences to Pat and Bob,Jr. and the rest of the family. He will be missed by so many people.
Pat and family, I’m truly saddened to hear of your loss. I enjoyed the years I worked as Bob’s secretary at BCC. His love of family, church, education and his sense of humor was so appreciated in the busy hours we all spent. Everyone thought we were so lucky because he kept us in beautiful roses that he grew.
My deepest condolences to your family. I just finished reading the information about his life. I didn’t realize the important contributions he made in his time here. I only knew him as a kind person whom I was always happy to see. He will be greatly missed.