The University of Alberta banner is flying at half-mast from April 22-24, 2020, in remembrance of Robert Ralph Hett, Professor Emeritus in the Department of History and Classics.
Robert Ralph Hett
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Robert Ralph Hett on April 6, 2020, at the age of 92 in Edmonton. Robert is survived by his wife Eileen of Edmonton and his son Benjamin (Corinna) of New York, and is mourned by Corinna's side of the family (Mary in Edmonton, Susan and family in Massachusetts, Kristina and family in Calgary), his nephew Chris and family in Cambridge, Ontario, and Eileen's sister Joan and family in New York.
Image courtesy of the Edmonton Journal
Robert was born in Kitchener, Ontario, on December 29, 1927. His parents, Ralph Carter Hett and Norma Norean Hett, as well as his sister Betty, have all gone before him. After service as a cadet in the Royal Canadian Navy in World War II, Robert held a range of jobs, including working on the loading docks for CN, as a purchasing clerk at B.F. Goodrich, and as a teller at the Dominion Bank, before earning a BA in history at Wilfrid Laurier University and a Ph.D. from the University of Rochester. For many years he was a popular professor of Canadian history at the University of Alberta. He retired in 1993.
Robert was beloved for his integrity, decency, quiet dignity, and dry sense of humor. He treated everyone he met with the same respect and courtesy. He will be deeply missed.
A memorial service will be held when family members are able to travel.
In lieu of flowers, the family would be grateful for donations to the University of Alberta Library.
- Obituary originally published by The Edmonton Journal.The Edmonton Journal.
For information about lowering the University of Alberta banner, visit the In Memoriam webpage.In Memoriam webpage.