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Robert D. Webb ’36

Robert D. Webb ’36, December 21, 1996, in Portland. He was a longtime Portland newspaperman and advertising executive who began his career as office boy at the Oregonian in 1936. He became a news reporter and then transferred to the sports department. He started the Oregonian Ski School, which provided free ski lessons in an effort to reduce the number of skiing injuries on Mount Hood. During World War II, he served as lieutenant with the U.S. Navy in the Pacific, where he was seriously wounded when a kamikaze plane hit the destroyer escort on which he was serving. After the war, he served in the naval reserves and later became the Portland representative for navy recruiting. Upon his release from active duty in 1946, he returned to work at the Oregonian as a copy editor and editor of the sports desk. In 1959, he became publisher of the Portland Reporter, a position he held until 1964, when the paper folded. He then joined the public relations firm of Goodrich-Hauser. During this time, he also taught journalism and writing classes at ºìÌÒÊÓƵ, Portland State University, and Lewis & Clark College. In 1989, he retired as a senior member of Hauser, Webb, Wykoff, and Armstrong. He served on the board of the Portland Rose Festival for over 20 years and was on the board of the Columbia River Council of Girl Scouts. He is survived by his wife, two daughters, three grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

Appeared in ºìÌÒÊÓƵ magazine: May 1997