Robin Scott Hawley

Robin Scott Hawley was born in Naples, Italy in 1953, to a submariner and a nurse. His life was saved four times; the first by a stranger who caught a falling baby in the middle of the ocean, the second by his faith in a loving god in high school. The third was years later, by an amazing therapist, and the last by a team of cardiologists whose skill and talent defied his imagination.
Growing up in the most dysfunctional of families, he survived, more or less intact, because of books, a hyperactive imagination, and a few extremely gifted teachers. His heroes were writers, poets, Greek and Enlightenment philosophers, lawyers, and scientists. He wanted to be Merlin the Magician, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Clarence Darrow, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Mary Magdalene, Marie Curie, William Shakespeare, Galileo, and especially Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Much to his chagrin, he discovered those roles were taken. Fortunately, a few good teachers and a great many science fiction and fantasy books got him through to college, where he became the final student of an exceptional fruit fly geneticist named Dean Parker. Dean would become one of the first people to change his life – teaching him how to “do genetics,” how to “cherish the exceptions,” and instilling a love of everything meiosis. Robin Scott developed a life-long passion, training in science and scholarship under a multitude of incredible mentors and teachers through his graduate and post-graduate ventures. Genetics and scholarship were the two things that defined a professional life that Robin Scott truly loved. His efforts were recognized through academic positions, by election to the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and an appointment as an American Cancer Society research professor. Through the kindness and patience of Bill Neaves, Dave Chao, Robb Krumlauf, Susan Weigel, Kausik Si, Betty Drees, and Alejandro Sanchez Alvarado, he was able to help create the Graduate School of the Stowers Institute for Medical Research where he served as Founding Dean. He never found words to truly express how much the students and staff of the grad school meant to him, but he knew that Susan Weigel, Ana Pedraza, Lori Vitale, and Kim Dziedzic were the true heroes of the effort. During his long tenure at Stowers, he felt a huge debt of gratitude for the kindness of the Stowers family. He adored and was active in the genetics community. He served as president of the Genetics Society of America and received both the Elizabeth Jones Award for Teaching and the GW Beadle Medal for Service to the Genetics Community. He co-founded the GRC Meiosis Meeting with one of his science heroes, Nancy Kleckner in 1992. The delightful group of people who comprise the “meiosis and fly communities” were a constant, enormous blessing to him. His greatest joys were the students at all levels, and the fellows who made science so much more than fun for five decades; especially Cathy Lake, Danny Miller, Cori Cahoon, Stacie Hughes, Kim McKim, Jeff Sekelsky, Steffi Williams, and so many undergrads. Robin Scott experienced two miracles: His wife Kathy, and his son Chris. They were the lights of his life, and gave it meaning he hadn’t thought possible. He waited fifty years to meet Kathy, and never understood how he had lived without her love and daily inspiration. The honor, gentleness, and genius of Chris made him constantly aware of how good life could be. Chris’s wife, Ali Baum, was a source of amazement and laughter since the day they met. He was blessed by the love of Kathy’s children Jen Stone, Jon Stone, and Jon’s wife, Jessica Stone, and grandchildren Ethan and Carter, as well as the love of her family (especially Merilyn and Loren Berenbom). They were all far more generous in their love and kindness than he had words to express.
Among the many other people who created light and meaning in his life were Emily Potter, Ken Burtis, Tracy dePelligrin, Geoffrey Childs, Rachael French, Crystal Babb, Angie Miller, Monica Colaiacovo, Diana Libuda, Sue Jaspersen, Richard Abloff, Laura and Matthew Eickman, Kelly Ranallo, Cathy Lake, Stacie Hughes, Catherine Mori, and Kimla Virden.
Finally, he was beyond grateful to the Wicked Ones in NYC. Thank you for being a reminder of how much beauty there is in this life.