Remembered fondly: BC3's celebration of life honors benefactor Heaton
Butler County Community College conducted a celebration of life Wednesday for a man who once opposed the creation of the college, but became an esteemed benefactor.
BC3 officials and friends and family of Robert R. Heaton, who was 91 when he died in January, shared stories of good times they spent with him and the lessons they learned from him.
Shortly after donating $50,000 to BC3 for an endowed scholarship, Heaton made the first $1 million donation in school history in 2014 during the Pioneer Proud Campaign. His donation was used toward the $6.4 million cost of the Heaton Family Learning Commons, a state-of-the-art academic and community library on the main campus in Butler Township.
“How ironic, one of the very smartest people I've ever met was born on April Fool's Day,” BC3 President Nick Neupauer said. “And a man who invested better than any other person I've known was born several months before the stock market crash of 1929 and the onset of the Great Depression.
“It is said that a person's worldview is shaped during their adolescent years. Bob represented the very best of the silent generation.”Before signing the $1 million donation check, Heaton wanted to look at audits and other records for assurance that BC3 was on solid financial ground, Neupauer said.Much before that, Heaton did not support the creation of BC3, Neupauer said.“Bob was actually against the creation of Butler County Community College back in 1965,” he said.However, he became a benefactor, and the two-story Heaton Family Learning Commons was dedicated in August 2016, replacing the John A. Beck Jr. Library, which opened in 1973.Heaton briefly attended BC3 in 1978, received an honorary distinguished alumni award from the college in 2014 and served as a board member of the BC3 Education Foundation from 2015 to 2019.Ruth Purcell, retired executive director of the BC3 Education Foundation, said Heaton's donation has led to other large donations.“When a man like Bob Heaton invests, people follow,” Purcell said.His daughter, Leanne Heaton, and many friends told stories about Heaton's love for classic cars, especially Ford Thunderbirds, and a much newer Tesla he owned, and his outgoing personality.“I was very fortunate to have him as a dad,” said Leanne Heaton. “I think everybody here has a Bob story.”She said her father's memory will live on as long as people remember their stories about him and the library remains standing.A portrait of Bob Heaton will be displayed in the Heaton Family Learning Commons.After the celebration, guests were given purple, green, white and yellow carnations to place on the steps of the building.
