It is with sadness we have learned of the death of Bob Hastings, the father of the College of Computing and Digital Media's Peter Hastings. He passed away on Aug. 22 with family at his side.
Hasting's professional roles over the years were diverse. His first ministry after seminary was to college students in Michigan and then California. Returning to Michigan with his developing family, he began his ministry as pastor and preacher. He was not heroic or glib. He had no easy answers for personal and social concerns, yet engaged in responding to them in places and situations around him, even to the point of getting arrested with others in a protest concerning war preparations. He went where God and the bishop sent him, serving churches in Grosse Pointe, Flint, Highland Park, Center Line, Essexville, Kochville, Hazel Park, Dearborn Heights, and, finally, Saginaw before retiring in 2004.
Before and after retirement he was involved in many organizations caring for churches and communities: peace groups, ecumenical organizations, Kiwanis Club and Habitat for Humanity.
He is survived by his wife of nearly 62 years, Phyllis Hastings, a professor of English at Saginaw Valley State University, his son Peter, an associate professor in DePaul's College of Computing and Digital Media, and daughters Karis, Julie and Mary Beth and their families. With his completed life, his legacy remains.