Robert Hoag Rawlings, legendary longtime leader of the Pueblo Chieftain, died at his home Friday afternoon at age 92.

Rawlings had a profound effect not only on his newspaper, but also on the Pueblo community, said Managing Editor Steve Henson. The chairman and editor had been publisher until earlier this year.

The “old-school newspaperman” was born Aug. 3, 1924, in Pueblo but grew up in Las Animas. He died of natural causes after suffering a variety of illnesses, Henson said.

Rawlings became well-known to Colorado Springs residents as he fought with the city over the $825 million Southern Delivery System, a Colorado Springs Utilities project that draws water from the Arkansas River and delivers it to four communities.

Having grown up in Las Animas, Rawlings “saw first-hand the effects of the Dust Bowl,” Henson said.

“He hated the idea of Aurora or anyone coming in and buying the water rights and drying up the land. For close to 25 years, he’s fought every development that would take water out of the area.”

Rawlings became a worthy adversary for Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers, Utilities and the City Council in 2015 and until the SDS began operating in April 2016.

The editor battled for Colorado Springs to execute the massive project properly and give money and stormwater protection to its downstream neighbor. And he won. The city reached a $460 million, 20-year intergovernmental agreement with Pueblo County to provide 71 major stormwater projects, many of which will protect Pueblo and other downstream neighbors.

“He liked John (Suthers) a lot,” Henson said. “He was giving him the benefit of the doubt, and he knew John was an honorable guy.”

Said Suthers: “He liked and respected me, and I liked and respected him despite his seemingly obsessive disdain for Colorado Springs and its water needs. I had several rather animated meetings with Bob and the Chieftain editorial board over the last 15 years.

“When I became attorney general, he wrote me a handwritten note telling me I could be ‘a real statesman’ by suing to shut down the Southern Delivery System. I told him I wouldn’t do that, but I would recommend it be named in his honor. He wasn’t amused. Even over the last two years during my tenure as mayor, when the Chieftain editorial page continued to pound on Colorado Springs, we always made sure that didn’t impact our personal respect for each other.”

Rawlings’ passion for water also led him to spur voters in five counties to approve creation of the Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District in November 2002.

The “Lower Ark,” as it is known, protects water quality and resources in Bent, Crowley, Otero, Prowers and Pueblo counties.

Water also was on Rawlings’ mind as he envisioned getting congressional approval to eventually run a major pipeline from Pueblo, bypassing its confluence with the Arkansas River, to deliver more clean water to the valley, Henson said.

The Chieftain also might be the only small-town newspaper in the nation to employ a full-time water expert, former reporter Chris Woodka, who spent 30 years honing his knowledge of water issues before leaving the Chieftain last August.

“He drove me pretty hard when I was the water reporter,” Woodka said. “It was difficult but at the same time rewarding. I think he’ll be remembered for his passion for the water, the Lower Arkansas Valley and the city of Pueblo.”

“That (water) has been (Rawlings’) big passion. He’s been ferocious about water,” Henson said. “I would say many of our major projects in our community, such as the Riverwalk, never would have been approved by voters if not for Bob Rawlings and his passion for them.”

But Rawlings’ primary passion was journalism and the Chieftain.

“I’ve worked with him for 30 years,” Henson said. “He’s relentless and extremely competitive. He was just a ferocious journalist, and he used the newspaper as an advocate for Pueblo and southern Colorado. He bludgeoned people as an advocate. He did tons of research. He interviewed people on the editorial board and got their side before writing his editorials.

“He’s old school. He’s Citizen Kane without being the jerk. He’s a powerful presence, and he’s believed in the community, because everybody knows he fights for the community.”

Even after 30 years of working together, he said, Rawlings also made him defend his position. “If I couldn’t defend my position, I would have to back off.”

Rawlings daughter Jane became publisher earlier this year, Henson said. She becomes the fourth generation of the Hoag and Rawlings family to run the Chieftain. Her father served as publisher and editor since 1980, succeeding his uncle, who followed his grandfather.

The newsman also is survived by daughter Carolyn Temple, of Durango, and sons Robert Rawlings Jr., of Ashland, Ore., and John Rawlings, of San Diego. His wife, Sandy, preceded him in death four years ago.

“It’s the end of an era,” Henson said. “We all admired him greatly.”

Robert Rawlings. Photo by the Pueblo Chieftain.

Robert Rawlings. Photo by the Pueblo Chieftain.