Obituary: Harold Way

Dedicated professor, administrator and volunteer

Harold Frank Way, Jr. died peacefully of cancer at his home in Pasadena on Sunday, December 4, 2016 at age 87. He was surrounded by his loved ones.

Mr. Way was born in Chillicothe, Missouri in 1929. He received his bachelor’s degree from Northeast State Teacher’s College (now Truman State) and a PhD in government from Cornell University in 1958. He taught at the University of Missouri in Columbia and then accepted a faculty position at the University of California, Riverside in 1957. For 34 years, he taught and researched the constitutional rights of criminal defendants and the religious liberty clause of the First Amendment. He published widely in books, anthologies and journals.

Mr. Way served as the pre-law advisor at UCR for many years, and achieved great joy from helping students attain their dream of attending law school. He received the Academic Senate’s Distinguished Teaching Award in 1986. His university service included the positions of divisional dean, associate dean, assistant vice chancellor and department chair.

Following his retirement in 1991, he did volunteer work at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden in Claremont for 15 years. He was also a volunteer reading tutor for elementary students in the public schools of Claremont and Pasadena for 20 years. Gardening, travel and cooking were passions throughout his lifetime. Leadership roles came to him naturally, whether at the university or in the community. He lived a life where family was his first priority, and where a strong ethical center guided him on a daily basis.

Mr. Way is survived by his wife Barbara; his daughters, Madeline Lee and Deborah Way; his stepson Michael Burt; his sons-in-law, Gregory Lee and Sean Pitonak, and grandchildren Claire Way, Rachel Way, Alexander Lee, Jeffrey Lee, and Michael Burt. He is also survived by a sister, Sally Reynolds and a brother, John Way. His son, David, predeceased him in 1987.

Mr. Way has a large extended family in Missouri where a memorial service will be held in the spring of 2017. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that a contribution be made to a local food bank.

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