Robert Mowrer

Robert Richard Mowrer — “Bob” to friends and family, and “Mr. Mowrer” to his students — was born April 11, 1947, in Ontario, Oregon, to Francis “Fritz” Mowrer and Mildred “Millie” (Crouch) Mowrer. He passed away on Sunday, August 10 after a courageous battle with dementia.

Bob graduated from Ontario High School in 1965 and enrolled in engineering at Oregon State University. He later joked that the program’s goal was to make most students change majors. He switched to business administration, graduating to become a national bank examiner just as the industry was shifting from paper files to computers.

Bob returned to Oregon State University for a second degree in education; business education with a focus on math, computer math, and programming. He began teaching at Eagle Point High School in Southern Oregon, where he also served as the contact for the Southern Oregon University network, introducing students to the then-new world of programming. In just 4½ years, he saw it all: double shifting, the construction of a new high school, and, memorably, a complete shutdown when taxpayers refused to approve the new school’s budget. During that unexpected “intermission,” he applied for and was hired at Jefferson Junior High in Eugene. Three and a half years later, he moved to North Eugene High School, where he taught for the next 22 years before retiring in 2002.

While at North Eugene High School, Bob taught business classes and typing, eventually leading the transition of classrooms from typewriters to computers. As the school’s go-to “computer guy,” much of the staff turned to him whenever technology went sideways. His problem-solving skills and forward thinking led him to create the NETS program — North Eugene Technical Students — where he set up a ticket system for staff to report computer issues. Student technicians in the program would pick up the ticket, devise a solution, and head out to fix the problem for the teacher.

In the 1980s, Bob was invited by his principal at the time, Don Essig or better known as the voice of the Oregon Ducks at home games to start doing statistics for football games and, eventually all basketball games. This was right up Bob’s alley, especially as the system evolved from pencil and paper to computer-based stats, putting him squarely in his element. He loved the work, and it came with some perks including sitting courtside at NCAA March Madness tournaments as “the stats guy.”

On May 11, 1968, Bob married Mischelle (LaSala) in Eugene, Oregon. They raised two children, Jeff (married to Linda) and Angie (married to Jeff Hamilton). He especially loved being “grandpa Bob” to Carson, Hannah, Josie, Hannah, and Ella.