Tuesday, July 25, 2023
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How do I begin to honor the man who saw something in 1992 in that novice science teacher from rural Preston County on his “Rivers of WV” field trip, ultimately changing the trajectory of her entire life? I certainly would not be a professor and certainly would not be leading any Earth Science initiatives in West Virginia without him. He made one fateful phone call to Patricia Obenauf which set me on this path. Dr. Bob began as a teacher, added the role of mentor during my graduate program, then colleague in the RockCamp days, and somewhere along these 21 years, a friend.
He led field trips for multiple iterations of RockCamp I and II, followed by III, IV, V, several Falls & Fossils Trips, 20 years of WVSTA field trips and one Keynote on his research in Antarctica, NAGT-ES field trips, four seasons of Geology Telecourses (when distance education involved satellite downlinks), six ESS Passport Field trips, and trips with Marion County teachers to Canadian Rockies, the Bay of Fundy, the Cascades, the Smoky Mountains, Connecticut Valley, Snake River flood basalts, Arizona, Colorado/New Mexico, Outer Banks, and Tour of Great Lakes, (to name a few). If you do the math he likely impacted over 1,000 K-12 teachers in his career.
His wide breadth of knowledge, easy-going nature, warm sense of humor, and ability to tell a story engaged teachers across WV. You left a Dr Bob trip loving geology, loving the man, and wanting to be a better Earth & Space Science Teacher. He was known for his red suspenders, white shirt, and khaki pants, a quick wit, warm laugh, and the uncanny ability to know a good ice cream/custard place near any field stop. It was always a “great day for a field trip”, rain was always “just clearing showers”, rocks were a puzzle asking “which way is up”, and Alexander’s Rag Time band was always fair game. What is “conspicuous by it’s absence?” he would always ask. Dr. Bob, this time it’s you. Your legacy, however, is not. I will miss you!
