Bob Chandler, of Bulletin parent company, dies

Published 12:00 am Friday, February 26, 2016

Robert Wilbur Chandler, the son of the former editor and owner of Western Communications and The Bulletin, died Wednesday night. He was 53.

An active member of the Western Communications board of directors, Chandler was also highly involved in civic matters and was a master food preserver at the Oregon State University Extension office, according to his wife, Yvette Chandler, who survives him. Born on April 8, 1962, he graduated from Mountain View High School in 1980 and attended the University of Oregon.

He was a pilot and a flight instructor, and according to his sisters, Janet Stevens and Betsy McCool, lived in Florida and Hawaii for a time before returning to Oregon.

A little over a decade ago, he and Yvette moved with their daughters, Olivia, now 20, and Ellen, now 17, to Sisters, where he could often be seen attending his daughters’ school functions and serving on various civic boards and committees.

“He was always helping people who would ask him for help,” said Yvette Chandler.

Chandler’s friend of 48 years, Peter Carlson, of Bend, said that he and Chandler were like brothers. As kids, they helped set the Fourth of July fireworks on top of Pilot Butte, and shared a love of music and “adventures.”

“He had a hundred hobbies,” Carlson said. “He was good at all of them.”

But Chandler really came into his own when he and Yvette started a family, Carlson said. “His daughters were his pride and joy,” Carlson said.

And throughout, he remained involved in company affairs. He took an active interest in the news industry, according to John Costa, the president of Western Communications and the publisher of The Bulletin.

“He absolutely adored his children,” said Stevens, who added that he was “the best natural salesman you ever saw.”

Survivors include three sisters, in addition to Stevens and McCool: Peggy Cushman, Cookie Chandler and Patsy Moss.

There will be a service, though no details have been planned, according to Yvette Chandler.

— Reporter: 541-383-0376,

cwithycombe@bendbulletin.com