William Donald "Bill" Hare

William "Bill" Donald Hare, scion of a prominent Hillsboro family, died Jan. 4, 2016, in a Portland area hospital. He was 78. Bill was born Jan. 23, 1937, to Joyce and John Hare in Portland (delivered by his great-uncle, Dr. Wiliam Boyd Hare) but was raised in Hillsboro. His great-great-grandfather, William Davenport Hare, came across the Oregon Trail in 1850, nine years before Oregon became a state, and was one of the founders of the Republican Party in Oregon. He also cast the one electoral vote Oregon had for President Ulysses S. Grant. Bill's grandfather, William Gilman Hare, who practiced law for 60 years, served in the Oregon State Senate and was mayor of Hillsboro. The Hillsboro School District athletic complex, Hare Field, was named for him. Bill's father, John, was a well-known Hillsboro businessman, who also served in the Oregon Senate from 1955 to 1956. Bill grew up in Hillsboro and graduated from Hillsboro High School. He attended the University of Oregon and Portland State University before enlisting in the U.S. Marine Corps. His tour of duty included being stationed at the U.S. Embassy in Munich, Germany. Bill was the owner of Hare Office Products in Salem, Eugene and Portland, and later worked with his wife, Deirdre, at the company she founded, Hare Communications. Upon retirement he lived in Newport and Mesquite, Nev., and for the last 15 years, he divided his time between his Newport home and his home on Molokai, Hawaii.He is survived by his wife, Deirdre; children, Gwen Kuhn of Beaverton, Christopher William Hare of Conroe, Texas, Jamie Flynn of Seattle and John Charles Hare of Eugene; sister, JoAnn Hoefer of Newberg; and six grandchildren.A private family celebration of his life will be held at a later date.