Robert (bob) Hawley

• Publication year: 2002
• Pages: 25

31 Colo.Law. 25 Colorado Lawyer 2002.

2002, September, Pg. 25. Robert (Bob) Hawley

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25

Vol. 31, No. 9, Pg. 25

The Colorado Lawyer
September 2002
Vol. 31, No. 9 [Page 25]

Features
Profiles of Success
Robert ("Bob") Hawley
by Brooke Wunnicke

The Colorado Lawyer publishes profiles of practicing lawyers on a quarterly basis. The CBA Profiles Committee selects Colorado Bar Association members who are nominated as outstanding lawyers by their peers. With these profiles, the CBA hopes to: promote the image of lawyers by emphasizing qualities that should be emulated; show the benefits of public service to both the lawyer who serves and the community; emphasize professionalism; provide role models for new lawyers; manifest ways of becoming successful and respected; and reward deserving lawyers for their contributions to the profession. Please send your suggestions, comments, or questions about this ongoing feature to: Arlene Abady, Managing Editor, 1900 Grant St Suite 900, Denver, CO 80203; (303) 824-5325; fax: (303) 830-3990; e-mail: aabady@cobar.org

Brooke Wunnicke, Of Counsel, Hall & Evans, L.L.C., Denver - (303) 628-3363 - is a member of The Colorado Lawyer Profiles Committee, and has known Bob Hawley for more than forty-five years

The old proverb, "Honor to whom honor is due," applies to Robert ("Bob") Hawley. Bob Hawley exemplifies the spirit of the West: self-reliant; persevering through hardship; and loyal to family, friends, profession, community, and country. Because this article is merely a "profile," at most it can but suggest the full contours of the contributions that Bob has given to others throughout his life and of his service to the legal profession. His achievements are a memorable part of Western history and truly merit being recorded in writing.

Boyhood

Robert Hawley was born August 7, 1920, in Douglas, Wyoming. His father, who was General Counsel for Continental Oil, died when only 41 years old - Bob was 11 years old. Bob lived for a while in Denver, where he attended Graland School, riding to school on a pony. Soon after his father's death, he went to live at his grandfather's ranch near Douglas, Wyoming, where he learned to "break" horses. He worked with two cowboys who were paid $1 per day plus room and board; Bob was paid only 50 cents per day.

When he was 16, he joined the two cowboys for the 110-mile trip on a dirt road to Gillette, Wyoming, for a rodeo. Bob entered a number of rodeo events, made it to the finals in saddle bronco riding, but did not get to participate in the finals. Instead, the sheriff nabbed Bob, at his grandfather's request, for being a runaway, and he was taken back to the ranch.

Bob told his grandfather that he did not believe it was fair the cowboys were paid $1 per day but he was paid only 50 cents per day, although he was the one who went out at 4:00 a.m. to bring in the horses for breaking. Bob thought that he could earn more by going into rodeo; his grandfather told him to go ahead; and, while still in high school, Bob made his way as a rodeo performer. Bob graduated Douglas High School in 1938.

Still in his teens, Bob became a professional rodeo performer in the rodeo circuit, performing in such places as Cheyenne, Wyoming; Miles City, Montana; Calgary, Alberta; and San Francisco, California. As a performer, Bob broke both of his arms, his shoulder, a foot, and "miscellaneous bones." Now, he has several spinal disks that a doctor described as looking like "bowls of oatmeal." Nonetheless, he still enjoys playing golf!

Education and Service in World War II

Bob decided that he needed a college education and obtained a scholarship to the University of Colorado at Boulder ("CU"). To support himself in college, he worked for three dry cleaners and was paid 10 percent of collections, plus free cleaning for...