’04 Ashley Rowe to Gunnar Brainerd, 7/9/05 in Harbor Springs, MI; attendants: Hannah Ames,
In Memory PARTING SHOT:
Robert Hartley ’91’01MBA
Natalie Hernandez, Dave Pitt, and Dan Fletcher ’05; attendees: Carissa Maguire, Katie Fried, Ben Munson, and Ilsley Colton ’05. Pictured left to right are Hannah Ames, Ben Munson, Katie Fried, Dan Fletcher, Ashley Rowe, Gunnar Brainerd, Dave Pitt, Carissa Maguire, Ilsley Colton, and Natalie Hernandez ’05 Aubrey Wysocki to Brandon Thompson ’03, 6/18/05 in Knowles Memorial Chapel; wedding party: Megan Rolfs, Laura Deaver ’04, and Brian Waterfield ’04.
IN MEMORY ’32 Dr. Russell B. Carson, Broward (FL) County’s first urologist, died July 12, 2005. Recognized for helping establish Broward General Medical Center and for helping shape the national Medicare system, Russell was also an associate professor at the University of Miami Medical School for 20 years. He is survived by his wife, Eleanor, and a daughter. ’34 Dorothea Yust Smith, who retired in 1974 after 15 years as a preschool teacher with the Hitchcock School, Scarsdale, NY, died April 20, 2005, in Orange City, FL. Dorothea earned a master’s degree from Bank Street College of Education, New York City. She is survived by two sons. ’34 Victoria Bedford Betts, a resident of Yardley, PA, died May 7, 2005, from complications of a hip fracture. continued page 42
Robert Heinsohn Hartley II ’91 ’01MBA was deeply religious, demonstrating his faith in ways that touched the lives of countless people in his hometown of Sewickley, Pennsylvania and his adopted home of Winter Park, Florida. The Eagle Scout who made friends with the poor and humble also received a get-well card from President Bush and a hospital phone call from White House deputy chief of staff Karl Rove. Hartley packed a century’s worth of public service into his 35 years before he succumbed to recurrent brain cancer on June 8, 2005. More than 600 people attended his funeral. Hartley chose Rollins over Vanderbilt and William & Mary when he was offered one of the first two Philip and Peggy Crosby Scholarships for leadership. A 1986 winner of the Congressional Medal for Young Americans, he made his mark at Rollins as a political science major and in student activities, including student government and the College newspaper. At the end of his junior year, he was one of 25 students nationwide chosen to participate in the prestigious Leadership America summer program. But he was perhaps best known as the campus shutterbug. Hartley, who experienced the disappointment of not being invited to join a fraternity, ironically found his social and business niche when he spontaneously grabbed his camera to take photos at an open fraternity party. “Photography allowed me to work and party with a lot of diverse groups. Now, I feel like a member of every fraternity and sorority on campus,” he wrote in an article for Princeton University’s Business Today magazine. That theme of inclusion was key for Hartley. Even as a boy, he made it a point to make friends with the kids who were “left out.” For his Eagle Scout project, he persuaded merchants to donate food, clothes, and toys to the town’s poor via the Community Center so none of the recipients knew the source of such beneficence. At All Saints Episcopal Church in Winter Park, he delivered altar flowers to hospitalized parishioners. He was a commissioner for the Winter Park Housing Authority and served on the board of the Walt Disney Memorial Cancer Institute at Florida Hospital Orlando. “In a world of self-absorption, Robert Hartley taught us what it means to live for others,” said Des Cummings, Jr., president of the Florida Hospital Foundation. Following graduation from Rollins, Hartley went to work for General Mills at the Olive
Barbara and Robert Hartley
Garden (later bought out by Darden Restaurants). After doing some government relations work with Darden, he decided to pursue marketing and entered Rollins’ Crummer Graduate School of Business, where he earned his MBA and acquired the skills to turn his photography business into a full-time operation. Hartley remained an active Rollins alumnus and took special pleasure in photographing reunions and other College events. He was invited to give the baccalaureate address to the Class of 1999. “Rollins was very dear to him,” said Barbara, his beloved wife of eight years. “He was so appreciative of getting the Crosby Scholarship that he gave back to the College by helping to raise money and serving on various committees. He was very loyal—to institutions, values, and people.” Hartley’s political activities were also of central importance to him. He worked on several campaigns and served on the board of the Orange County Young Republicans. “Robert never made a person feel bad for having ideas; he enjoyed the give-and-take of debate,” said friend and Rollins classmate Sam Stark ’91. Both Hartley’s mother, Nell, and Barbara cite his wit as the quality they remember most. “Robert loved to laugh and had a great sense of humor,” Barbara said. “I don’t know if everyone saw that in him because of his passion for getting things done.” Hartley’s thoughtfulness and concern for the people he loved survive. Perhaps the greatest symbol of this is the ring he bought and left for Barbara to find on her birthday—two months after his death. In March, Rick Walsh, Hartley’s first employer and mentor at Darden Restaurants, wrote to Robert: “In spite of all the bad and challenging things…what a life it is. Thinking about you recently, after bemoaning this most recent episode, I was reminded—you have an extraordinary life filled with wonderful parts: Barbara, your business, your parents, your politics, Rollins, your friends. There are so many in the world who would give most anything for just a moment of your life.”—Bobby Davis ’82
FALL 2005 39