Deceased December 8, 2009

View alumni profile (log in required)


In Memory

Classmate Bob Hatch, M.D., died Dec. 8, 2009, near his Kennebunk, Maine, home after a long and courageous battle with pulmonary fibrosis. Bob established the first OB-GYN practice in Dover, N.H., in 1962. Our family, when visiting Dover, discovered his impact and popularity in the community. When we inquired about the Hatch name, we would often hear, “Dr. Bob delivered me.”

Bob always had a project in the works. He maintained livestock on one home farm and installed a windmill for energy conservation on another. Bob was a weather observer for a Portland TV station. He built a remote (with no electricity) cabin on Moosehead Lake. Exercising his writing skills, Bob compiled a 50th anniversary yearbook for his Yale medical class and, for his family, he wrote his “Memoirs,” incorporating photos and world events to put his experiences into perspective. His years at Phillips Academy Andover was his last completed chapter.

At Amherst, Bob was an accomplished pole-vaulter. His engaging personality fueled camaraderie with his Chi Phi brethren and campus friends. His Amherst years had precedent; Hal recalls his and Bob’s fathers lived in the same fraternity room as their sons.

Bob served in the Army Air Corps in World War II. After medical school, he was in the Army Medical Corps, with stints at WalterReedHospital and in Germany. He married Karolin Kihlander in 1952, best friend of my wife, Sylvia, who is Bob’s sister. They had four children. After Karolin's death in 1992, Bob married a nurse associate, Mary Breckenridge Oaks, who supported him lovingly and, with his four children, was by his side at his death.

Bob’s inner vigor and faith stayed with him throughout. Many of us, the Youngs, Owens, McKeans, Husons and Harry Millers included, kept in touch with Bob over the years. Remembrances have been received from others as well. Bob is sorely missed.   

Jeff Mealand ’50
Bob McKean,Jr ’50
Hal Owen Jr. ’50