Deceased December 11, 2019
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In Memory
Bob came to Amherst with a large group of classmates from Deerfield Academy. As an undergraduate, he was a Phi Gam, majored in American studies and earned Phi Beta Kappa honors. Along the way, Bob was in the glee club and worked on the Student staff. After Amherst, he went to Harvard Law School, graduating in 1958. His working days were spent in the legal departments of Burroughs Welcome and General Foods.
In 1976, Bob married Kathy Naeff. When Bob retired in 1989, they moved to the Upper Valley of the Connecticut River near Dartmouth. Except for a short stint of full-time living in Tucson, Bob spent his remaining years there. Bob and Kathy enjoyed taking adult education classes at Dartmouth.
Bob was a loyal classmate. He served two five-year terms as class secretary and was a regular at homecoming and reunions. In his retirement years, Bob served on the boards of several nonprofits. He spent eight years with SCORE in Lebanon, N.H., as chapter president and as a small business counselor.
Bill Duffy ’55 and Bob both went to Harvard Law School, where the two classmates decided to go camping together one summer in the Atlantic Provinces of Canada. Bill was assigned to buy a pup tent for shelter. Unfortunately, he purchased a tent with two left sides, leading to an uncomfortable, make-shift shelter for the night. Another night the two of them pitched their tent on a dry riverbed. In the middle of the night, a thunderstorm turned the riverbed status from dry to flooded. The two smart law school students spent the remainder of a long night huddled under a couple of picnic benches, attempting to prevent getting completely soaked. That proved the old adage: Harvard Law grads do not know everything about everything!
Bob died unexpectedly on Dec. 11, 2019.
Rob Sowersby ’55