Robert H. Whealey died May 7, 2026 in The Plains. The son of Brooklyn natives Howard Whealey and Ethel Rooney, Robert was born May 16, 1930. 

He grew up in Baldwin, Long Island, New York, where he graduated high school. Robert attended Bates College, the University of Pennsylvania, Oxford University, and the University of Delaware, where he received a BA in history. He earned a PhD in modern European history from the University of Michigan. 

He served in the Historical Section of the US Army 1955-56. After teaching at the University of Maine, Robert moved to Athens in 1964, where he was an associate professor in the Ohio University History Department until retirement. He published numerous scholarly articles, letters to the editors of newspapers, including The Messenger, and a book Hitler and Spain: The Nazi Role in the Spanish Civil War. 

After retirement, he hosted “Athens Speakout,” a public access TV show in which he interviewed local people about political and cultural issues (2006-2018). He was also a long-time peace activist. 

He is survived by his wife Lois, three children, Richard, of Ann Arbor Michigan, David and Alice Whealey, of Athens Ohio, four grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. 

A memorial will be held at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Athens (184 Longview Hts.) on September 20 at 2 PM. Everyone is welcome to the memorial, and is invited to say or write something in memory of Robert. In lieu of flowers, donations to the South East Ohio Foodbank (HAPCAP) or the UUFA are encouraged.