Thursday, August 16, 2018
We always called him Bob or Uncle Bob, most others called him Robert. When I asked if we had it wrong all these years, he said either one was OK, it didn't matter. Which surprised me a little, because in most other matters he was always so precise. Being an Architectural Engineer , and later a Project Manager for hospital expansions and renovations, perfection was a requirement, and he certainly fit the bill. When we visited his cottage I used to marvel at the organization of everything, from tools to cleaning rags. But I could always depend on finding everything I needed, exactly where it was last visit, last year! It's a little humbling...made me me want to get home from vacation and get to work in my garage!
I didn't really realize until recent years the awesome responsibility of what he did every day at work, as Project Manager at a large Architectural firm. Many hours of visiting and standing by his many hospital bedsides this past year, I had the time to look around the rooms, the hallways, the labs, and out the window at adjacent buildings' rooftops and all their mechanical fixtures, and be in awe at this man who was responsible for ensuring that all these thousands of systems and parts functioned perfectly, as peoples' lives including his now, depended on those designs. I wonder what pressures he felt all those years, as he signed his name for approval of all those drawings.
I think one of Bob's great joys in his life was “Bob's Cottage.” He designed and built it himself , of course, with the help of his brother Henry., in the 1960's. On 3 perfectly wooded up north lots on a 60 foot bluff above a nearly deserted ,pristine Lake Huron beach. He retreated there to find the peace of the woods and the endless lake. In the mid-1970s Diane and I asked if we could go there for our weeks' vacation when we had just 2 kids. You could almost see the hidden horror pictures running through his head of 2 toddlers running amok in his perfect cottage; but he hesitantly said OK. But that's the way Bob was – be cautious, but give it a try. We had one of the most peaceful, family-building vacations ever! And, thanks mostly to Diane's not-too-subtle requirements, and example to clean up after ourselves, we left it immaculate. 4 more kids and 10 more years, and Bob was still letting us spend 2 weeks a year in his paradise! Thanks to Bob's generosity, we have a boat-load of fantastic family memories – and kids who still go up in that area to visit!
Bob, Robert, kind, precise, generous, dry sense of humor, caring of his family, we will miss you. We know you are at peace now, with God.
John and Diana Palmer
