Robert Hoag Rawlings, chairman and editor of The Pueblo Chieftain, has died of natural causes. He was 92.
Rawlings worked at The Chieftain and its former sister publication, The Pueblo Star-Journal, for 70 years.
Rawlings spent the past 37 years as publisher and editor, becoming chairman of the Star-Journal Publishing Corp. this year.
“Bob Rawlings was a giant, one of the last of a generation of newspapermen who built their community as they uncovered the news,” Gov. John Hickenlooper said. “As a tireless protector and promoter of southern Colorado, his fierce advocacy and remarkable generosity left an indelible mark. His tenacity and passion was unmatched. Like so many in his beloved southern Colorado, I feel like I have lost a best friend.”
A Pueblo native and a World War II Navy veteran, Rawlings used the editorial pages to advocate for Pueblo and southeastern Colorado. He fought to protect institutions such as Colorado State University-Pueblo and the Colorado State Fair but was known best for his battle to protect the quantity and quality of water in the Pueblo area.
Under his direction, The Chieftain won numerous awards for its reporting and editorials about water.
