Deceased November 27, 2023
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In Memory
Bob passed away in a hospice in Palm Beach, Fla., on Nov. 27, 2023, with his family present. He is survived by Ellie (Mount Holyoke ’56), his wife of 68 years; his children, Robert, William and Elizabeth; and four grandchildren. Another son, Andrew, predeceased him.
Bob came to Amherst from Garden City High School on Long Island. He joined the AD fraternity and ROTC, majored in economics, lettered in track and participated actively in college organizations, including the Student Council, the Christian Association and the Chest Drive. He was elected to the Sphinx honor society.
After Amherst, Bob served as an officer in the U.S. Air Force in France before returning to New York and earning an MBA at NYU. His career as a financial manager was spent mostly with IBM, including time in New York, Florida and Connecticut. A lifelong Episcopalian, he served the church in leadership positions wherever he lived. In retirement, he and Ellie spent parts of the year in Palm Beach, where they were neighbors of the late Dick Soffer ’54 and Jackie Werner; in Middletown, R.I.; and in Kitty Hawk, on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Wherever he went, in college and after, Bob was a sociable gentleman who enjoyed and valued the people around him and was enjoyed and valued by them.
Ellie Gordon, Elizabeth Gordon Dellenbaugh and Cliff Storms ’54