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Beloved UA history professor dies at 80
Herman Bateman was known as a quiet but effective teacher in his 34 years at UA.
Herman E. ”Pete” Bateman, a longtime professor of history at the University of Arizona until his retirement in 1980, has died of Alzheimer’s disease. He was 80.
Mr. Bateman, who taught primarily U.S. history and had a special interest in President Franklin D. Roosevelt, died May 23.
He was honored for his teaching in 1971 with the Creativity in Teaching Award from the UA President’s Club.
The award noted his ”quiet but extremely effective manner in working with students.”
”He had a great many graduate students, and many of them have remained in touch,” said his wife, Arline Bateman.
During his 34-year tenure at UA, Mr. Bateman also served seven years as associate dean of the Graduate College.
His wife said he was a ”quiet, modest man.”
”The word that describes him best is, he was a ‘gentleman’ in the finest sense of the word,” she said.
Mr. Bateman was born in El Paso, Texas, on May 27, 1916.
He earned his doctorate in history from Stanford University in 1953. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Coast Guard.
He is survived by his wife; a daughter, Ann Justison of Oakland, Calif.; a son, Thomas of Flagstaff; and five grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his first wife, June Fantz.
As Mr. Bateman wished, there will be no services, his wife said.
The family suggests that gifts in his memory be made to the UA history department.
(Dated May 30, 1997)
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Longtime Tucsonan John Mora dead at 74
Memorial services for John Mora, owner and president of Mora Insurance and Investments Inc., were held today.
Mr. Mora died of heart disease Wednesday. He was 74.
Mass for Mr. Mora was celebrated at St. Augustine Cathedral, 192 S. Stone Ave. Burial followed at Holy Hope Cemetery & Mausoleum, 3555 N. Oracle Road.
Mr. Mora was born July 18, 1922, in Naco, where he spent his childhood years.
He served in the U.S. Army during World War II and the Korean War.
After military service, he used the GI Bill to enroll at the University of Arizona, where he graduated in 1951 with a bachelor’s degree in business and public administration.
He lived in Tucson since his college days.
Mr. Mora was a longtime employee of Mutual of New York Insurance Co. before beginning his own business, Mora Insurance and Investments Inc., in 1980.
He was an avid golfer and a big fan of the UA women’s softball team and frequently attended their games, family members said.
Mr. Mora was a member of the Tucson Conquistadores board, the Southwest Golf Association Board, the Oro Valley Country Club Board, and the Golf Greens Committee for the city of Tucson.
He was also a member of the Arizona Historical Society Board, Arizona Mexico Commission and the Harvill Society.
Mr. Mora is survived by his wife of 45 years, Delores; a son, John D. Mora; two sisters, Grace Uribe, of Nogales, and Conchita Gonzales, of Guaymas, Son.; two granddaughters; and many nephews and nieces.
(Dated May 31, 1997)
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Gen. Kobes, 83, fought in Africa, taught athletics at West Point
Retired Army Brig. Gen. Frank J. Kobes Jr., who once coached with Vince Lombardi at West Point and later served there as professor of physical education, died here Sunday at age 83.
Funeral services for Gen. Kobes, a Nebraska native who moved to Tucson in 1989, were held yesterday at Christ the King Episcopal Church.
He attended Doane College in Nebraska before entering the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., from which he graduated in 1939. He later earned a master’s degree in physical education from New York University.
He served in the North African campaign during World War II and was discharged with a medical disability.
He later served as commandant of cadets at Valley Forge Military Academy, and was recalled to active duty for the West Point professorship in 1950. He retired in 1974 as a brigadier general.
In Tucson, Gen. Kobes was active in the Kiwanis and Christ the King Episcopal Church.
Survivors include his wife of 55 years, Lydia; a daughter, Jane Richter of Tucson; two sons, Frank Kobes IV of Western Springs, Ill., and Kenneth Kobes of Sumner, Wash.; a sister, Mary Jo Winter of New Hampshire; and nine grandchildren.
(Dated Jun 04, 1997)
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‘Castle Keep’ author Eastlake, 79
BISBEE – Author William Derry Eastlake died Sunday of complications from a stroke he suffered two years ago. He was 79.
The award-winning Eastlake wrote seven novels that were translated into at least eight languages, as well as short stories, essays, poems and newspaper columns.
”The most important thing in his life was writing,” said Marilyn Hill, his companion for 24 years.
During the Vietnam War, Eastlake was a correspondent for The Nation magazine.
His novel ”Castle Keep” was made into a movie starring Burt Lancaster. Time magazine called the novel a masterpiece.
In 1972, another novel, ”Portrait of an Artist with 26 Horses,” won a French award for the best foreign novel.
The New York City native moved to the Southwest in 1955 to write about the West in a non-stereotypical manner. A ranch near Cuba, N.M., was the setting for three of his novels.
During his career, Eastlake also wrote about the Vietnam War, World War II and places he visited.
In 1968, Eastlake moved to Tucson and started as a writer in residence at the University of Arizona the following year. He taught there for about three years, in addition to teaching at other universities, Hill said.
Eastlake moved to Bisbee in 1979.
Survivors include a brother, Gordon, in Virginia.
No services will be held, at Eastlake’s request, Hill said.
(Dated Jun 05, 1997)
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Deputy Assessor O’Hara known for colorful storytelling
Pima County’s chief deputy assessor, Robert G. O’Hara, a veteran known for his colorful yarns, died yesterday of cancer. He was 50.
He assessed properties, but in his heart he was a cowboy, friends say.
”He was a romantic who grew up in Boston filled with a love affair for the West,” said Pima County Assessor Rick Lyons.
Mr. O’Hara was a strapping 6-foot-2, 260-pound man who looked like a cross between Santa Claus and country singer Kenny Rogers.
He lost a leg in the Vietnam War and retired from the U.S. Marine Corps in 1971.
”Everybody respected him, and everybody had a great fondness for him,” Lyons said, adding that he picked him as his next in command because of his integrity.
Mr. O’Hara joined the Assessor’s Office in 1992 as a member of its litigation staff.
He was dismissed while working for former Assessor Alan Lang, but helped Lyons’ victorious election campaign in 1994, when voters recalled Lang. He was appointed chief deputy after Lyons won.
Lyons recalled some of Mr. O’Hara’s friends from back East making dinner reservations at a Tucson restaurant and convincing the staff – unbeknownst to Mr. O’Hara – that he was Rogers, the famous crooner. It was only after the meal that Mr. O’Hara discovered the reason for the furtive glances from the serving staff.
Bob Jones, deputy county recorder, said he once discovered Mr. O’Hara’s Chevrolet Blazer running in the county parking garage and told him about it.
The next time he saw him, he said, he was regaled with a long tale of Mr. O’Hara leaving his keys in the ignition, locking himself out, having to break into his vehicle through the back window, getting stuck, losing his wooden leg and watching it roll around on the garage floor in front of shocked bystanders as he worked to free his large frame.
”He was a real storyteller, and he had a real self-deprecating way about him,” Jones said.
Mr. O’Hara told some of his stories in Jim Balzotti’s ”Best Horseback Riding Vacations” book, published in 1997.
He said he always dreamed as a child of riding a horse, but lost the dream in Boston until he hit 40.
During his first riding attempt, he watched the wranglers lead out beautiful horse after beautiful horse. They’d look at his bulky size in dismay before barking out orders to bring out ”Old Bull,” which he described as a cross between a Clydesdale and a buffalo.
Mr. O’Hara recalled the wrangler being a stickler for the standard heels-down-in-the-stirrup position, and in a fit of nervousness, he frantically tried to do the impossible with his wooden leg and fixed rubber foot. His foot popped off, he said, startling his horse and prompting it to a gallop. The rest of the horses, likewise carrying greenhorns, followed suit.
Once he was riding his horse, Freight Train, on a beach near Boston. A distinguished gentleman with a ”Grey Poupon voice” asked what he planned to do with ”that” – pointing at a pile of manure. He told the man he would move someplace where ”that” was still referred to as ”horse*$%^” and planned to send for it when he got there.
”Shortly thereafter, the Boston Wrangler moved to Tucson, Arizona, bought a ranch where he raises some horses, some mustangs, some mules, no cattle and a whole lot of refuse,” Mr. O’Hara wrote.
Mr. O’Hara is survived by his wife, Patricia; daughter Dawn and son Terry, all of Tucson; and son Michael of Wichita, Kan. Services are pending.
(Dated Jun 06, 1997)
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