Posted by Thomas M. Carper on January 10, 2010:

I worked for, and then with, Bob at GE Fanuc in Charlottesville. I knew him to be a very meticulous man, impatient with "slackers" or anyone that did not perform as promised, and he taught me a lot in that regard. One of the things that most impressed me about Bob was his generosity. The year that I ran the United Way campaign for the Manufacturing team at the Charlottesville plant, I was shocked to see that Bob was the single largest contributor for all of Manufacturing. I was impressed, and it caused me to see Bob in an entirely new light. Bob also coached me on my writing, and helped me immensely in that regard. Several years after Bob retired, I was offered the Facilities Manager job and actually saw Bob one day as he drove through the grounds in his "Beemer". He didn't mention his illness, but I know now that he must have been sick even then. That's the kind of guy he was. He looked great, and I thought he must be having one hell of a time in retirement. I'm sorry he didn't get to enjoy the retirement life very long, but I also believe that Bob enjoyed his work at GE Fanuc, my guess is most everything else he did when most people would have tossed in the towel for retirement. I'm appreciative of the time I worked with him, and will always consider him my friend. Apologies for this late submission, but it's only during my own recent retirement that I was able to find this memorial to him. Certainly when I think of Bob, the words "Honorable- -Genuine- -Honest- -Caring" all come to mind. What more of a legacy could any of us expect to leave?

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