Rob Hiaasen Celebration Of Life Overflows Owings Mills Venue

OWINGS MILLS, MD — A celebration of life for Rob Hiaasen packed the Irvine Nature Center Monday night in Owings Mills. Hiaasen, a journalist known for his curiosity and craft, was the assistant editor and Sunday columnist at The Capital in Annapolis.

He was among five staffers killed by a gunman who police said had a longstanding grudge against the paper.

Hiaasen was 59.

Packed house to celebrate Rob Hiaasen. pic.twitter.com/bpCdip0XZV
— Andrea K. McDaniels (@ankwalker) July 2, 2018

Hiaasen is survived by three children Ben, Samantha and Hannah, who are 29, 27 and 26, respectively; and his wife of 33 years, Maria, according to The Baltimore Sun, which reported he leaves behind older siblings Barb, Judy and Carl.

Miami Herald columnist and novelist Carl Hiaasen, who was six years Rob's senior, told CNN his younger brother's nickname "Big Rob" came not just from his towering stature (he was reportedly 6-feet-5-inches tall) but because of the "remarkable heart and humor that made him larger than all of us."

Overflow crowd gathers to honor slain Maryland journalist Rob Hiaasen https://t.co/uZh3QPeJcD pic.twitter.com/hkHUV68OrF
— Miami Herald (@MiamiHerald) July 3, 2018

A native of south Florida, Hiaasen wrote for the Palm Beach Post early on in his career.

"His writing was lyrical and beautiful but also smart and funny," Miami Herald editor Amy Driscoll told ABC. She worked with Hiaasen at the Palm Beach Post, where he began as a government reporter and switched over to features writing.

He went on to join the staff of The Baltimore Sun before reportedly accepting a buyout in 2008 and joining The Capital as assistant editor in 2010.

He did an "amazing pivot" in his career, becoming all the things writers want in a good editor, a former colleague told The Baltimore Sun, describing Hiaasen as a "master of asking questions" who possessed an "innate curiosity."

Hiaasen was celebrated for his witty writing and connections with humanity. He won an award from the Maryland DC Press Association for a column he wrote in 2017 about segregation on south Florida beaches, according to The Baltimore Sun. He was also a Knight Fellow at Stanford University and earned national recognition for a Palm Beach Post piece he wrote in 1991 about a dentist who gave his patients AIDS.

A mentor of journalists, Hiaasen taught at the University of Maryland's Phillip Merrill College of Journalism.

"He brought a light into my life which showed me that I could do journalism in my own way...He believed in me so much. He believed in everyone so much," one of his students wrote on the college's Facebook page after she learned of his death. "He really loved teaching and reporting, and he really loved journalism."

Rob Hiaasen was featured on the front page of The Capital on Monday, with the headline: "Hiaasen was a writer with a light touch."

The celebration of life for Rob Hiaasen was from 6 to 9 p.m. on Monday, July 2, at Irvine Nature Center, 11201 Garrison Forest Road, Owings Mills. It was private and people were encouraged to dress casually, The Capital reported, saying the invitation read: "Rob would never want you to put on a suit for him..."

See Also:

Main picture with article is a still of Rob Hiaasen from WPTV/YouTube.