Robert Francis Hlavin, Chicago-Area Teacher, Hemingway Playwright, Dies at 83

Robert Francis Hlavin, a teacher and playwright who specialized in biographical dramatic works, many focused on writer Ernest Hemingway and produced at college venues and readers' theatres in the Chicago area, died on July 23 in Rockford, Illinois. He was 83.

Hlavin began his career as a teacher of English at Fenwick High School in Oak Park, Illinois in the 1950s. He joined Triton College in River Grove, Illinois as an instructor in English in 1964, the year the college first opened, and helped establish the ``All Nations Poetry Contest'' there. He retired in 1992 to further pursue his interests as a playwright and as an independent Hemingway scholar.

His works included dramatic renderings of Hemingway's stories as well as fictionalized tales of the author. He was given the Certificate of Merit Award by the Chicago International Film Festival for his docudrama ``Hemingway's Michigan Adventure.'' Hlavin's play, ``Mary's Story,'' staged in the 1980s and again in revised form in 1998, was based on his interviews with Mary Hemingway and her book "How it Was.'' In 1989, his suite of Hemingway plays was accepted by the John Fitzgerald Kennedy Library and the U.S. Library of Congress for their Hemingway collections. Hlavin's other subjects included Elinor Smith, the pioneering American aviator; John MacVane, World War II broadcaster; and actress Vivien Leigh.

His correspondence with writers ranging from Nelson Algren to Phil Caputo, Hlavin's former student and author of ``Rumors of War,'' provided further inspiration for short plays about the literary life.

Born in Cicero, Illinois to parents of Czech ancestry – his father was a butcher and his mother a housewife -- Hlavin was one of four brothers. He received his bachelor's and master's degrees in English from DePaul University, as well as a master's in Education.

In 1953, after he completed his bachelor's degree, he joined the U.S. army, serving in Germany, achieving Corporal Rank of Specialist Third Class, honorably discharged from active duty in 1955.

He is survived by his wife of 20 years, Therese Hlavin, of Rockford, Illinois; his brother Joseph Hlavin, of Western Springs, Illinois; his children, Laura Kaufman, of Libertyville, Alice Demet, Catherine Demet, Robert E. Hlavin, all of Lake Forest, Juliann Seaton, of Elmhurst, Mary Johnson, of Grayslake; a stepdaughter, LaRaie Zimm of Berwyn; 15 grandchildren and one great-granddaughter.

He will be buried at a private military ceremony at the Black Hills National Cemetery in Sturgis, South Dakota.  If desired, memorials in his name may be given to the National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.