Bob DeArmond, BBA ’52 (business administration) died October 17 at the age of 91 in his home at the Rogue Valley Manor. A steadfast donor, Ducks fan, and advocate for the university, he was born in Lakeview, Oregon and graduated from Medford High School, where UO track legend Bill Bowerman was his football coach.
DeArmond served as a UO Foundation trustee from 1995 to 2005. The retired lumber executive and his late wife Leona, a 1951 UO music graduate, gave generously to the Lundquist College of Business, the School of Music and Dance, UO Athletics, the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact and other areas of the university.
“We are deeply saddened about the loss of Bob DeArmond, one of the university’s closest friends and most ardent allies,” said UO President Michael H. Schill. “Take a tour of campus, and you cannot miss the impact of Bob and Leona’s philanthropy.”
“As donors, they were actively involved in shaping the future of our university. Bob was a leader for Oregon industry, and he found ways to allocate gifts effectively and efficiently, advancing the university in extraordinary ways. He was also generous with his most precious gift, his time.”
Whenever possible, added Schill, DeArmond sought out ways to leverage his gifts, inspiring others through his philanthropy and vision. In 2005, the DeArmond’s leadership challenge gift helped launch the fundraising effort for construction of the MarAbel B. Frohnmayer Music Building, inspiring UO benefactor Lorry I. Lokey and others to contribute.
The building opened in 2009, and its academic wing is named in honor of Leona, who studied voice and piano. So is one of the school’s four world-class Steinway grand pianos, a gift to the UO from Bob to surprise Leona on her birthday.
In turn, the DeArmonds were inspired by Lokey’s commitment to expanding the UO’s science capabilities. In 2009, they made a key investment in the Lokey Integrative Science Complex, a forerunner of the Knight Campus, which opened in 2020. Gifts from the DeArmond Trust endowed the head of the Knight Campus as well as the Robert and Leona DeArmond Chair in Neuroengineering.
“The DeArmond Trust is playing a critical role in the evolution of the Knight Campus,” said Robert Guldberg, Vice President and Robert and Leona DeArmond Executive Director. “We have embarked on an ambitious initiative to fast-track scientific discoveries into innovations that improve the quality of life for people in Oregon, the nation and the world.
“The Knight Campus is rapidly moving from promise to reality, and it’s in large part due to the DeArmond Trust’s commitment to that vision. The progress and impact we make together will be a vibrant and indelible reflection of Bob and Leona’s legacy at the UO.”
Mike Andreasen, Vice President for Advancement, also noted the role that the DeArmond trustees played in turning a shared vision into a lasting legacy. “The trustees have worked tirelessly to honor the legacy of Bob and Leona, for which we are deeply grateful,” said Andreasen
Bob was born in Lakeview, Oregon in 1930. He met Leona at the university, and was a member of the Theta Chi fraternity. In 1952, he graduated from the UO, formed the DeArmond Bros. Lumber Company in Rogue River, Oregon with his brother and father, and married Leona in Tillamook, Oregon.
After that mill was sold in 1959, the DeArmonds moved to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, where Bob and his brother owned the DeArmond Stud Mill which, along with several other companies, merged with Atlas Tie Company to form Idaho Forest Industries in 1969. Bob served as chairman of the board until 1995.
In 1987, the DeArmonds moved to Oregon, where Bob managed the Double Dee Lumber Company in Central Point until 1992. After retiring from the lumber industry, he was a real estate investor and remained active in the Southern Oregon business community. He was chairman of the board of the Coeur d'Alene High School and served on the boards of various industry associations, banks, and private companies.
“Mr. DeArmond was the epitome of what it means to be a Duck,” said Rob Mullens, director of intercollegiate athletics “The legacy that he and Mrs. DeArmond leave on Oregon Athletics and our student-athletes will have a lasting impact and they will be deeply missed.”
The DeArmonds made gifts to UO football, men’s and women’s basketball and the Duck Athletic Fund. They contributed to the PathwayOregon program and scholarships for student-athletes, as well as business and music students.
They supported the Lundquist College faculty, UO Libraries, expansion of Autzen Stadium and the Lillis Business Complex, the Vivian Olum Child Development program and construction of the Ford Alumni Center. An endowed chair in the Lundquist College is named in their honor. So is the makerspace in the Allan Price Science Commons and Research Library and a classroom in Lillis Hall.
In addition to the UO, the DeArmonds supported local charities, North Idaho College, and, through the Oregon Community Foundation for scholarships for high school students in Medford, Central Point, Lakeview and Tillamook.
Bob and Leona were honored with UO Presidential Medals in 2004, and Pioneer Awards in 2019. They were lifetime members of the UO Alumni Association and members of the university’s O. Meredith Wilson and Arnold Bennett Hall Legacy Societies.
Leona DeArmond died in 2017. Bob is survived by his son, Daniel (Patti) DeArmond, granddaughter, Jill (Nathan) White and four great grandchildren; his brother, Gordon (Norma) DeArmond, and nieces, Sarah (Tim) Jones and Theresa (Jon) Golden.