Remembrances
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August 2020
Barbara and I met Bob and Charlotte when they were considering buying their house on Grange Road in Four Seasons at Brandon Farms. We met them on the street and told them everything we had come to know about the houses and neighborhood from our first few months living here. Showing them our house, Bob quickly noticed an older microscope on a shelf and said it was identical to one of his first microscopes. They bought the house and we shared contiguous back yards for the next 18 years.
The four of us would occasionally sit on the patio with beer and iced tea and come to agree on on issues including politics, ethics and a variety of topical issues. Barbara and Charlotte shared enjoying programs including Great Books and the knitting club at Four Seasons. They spent much time in conversation. Barbara enjoyed best that conservation with Charlotte was never idle chatter, but rather probing the important issues of our time.
Our clubhouse has two pool tables and within a few weeks four of us started playing pool one or two days per week continuously for the next 18 years. After Bob died, Wes, Jay and Laury continued playing weekly until COVID-19 locked us out of the pool hall. Bob was such a courteous and kind man, never disrespecting anyone. He told us of flying over “the hump” during WWII and other great stories. But unique was his intellectual curiosity. He was an aggressive learner about the natural world from sub-atomic particles, molecules, electronics, skin electro-physiology, psychology, special and general relativity, all the way to black holes. Never was pool hall talk so erudite! From time to time Bob would say something memorable, perhaps lighthearted or profound. The one I remember most is: “Everything is better with a little sour cream on it.”
— Wes Van Pelt
August 2020
Susan and I used to visit Aunt Charlotte and Uncle Bob every summer. We bonded during those years with our Samantha dolls, late night checkers games, playing in the creek and occasionally getting into trouble by picking the neighbors flowers. We loved these summer times and looked forward to them year after year. One year, Charlotte taught me about making cards using stamps. Bob walked by and thought we were talking about postage stamps. He excitedly showed me his “stamp” collection and thus my own postage stamp collection was born. I also remember fondly Bob teaching Dustin how to ride the lawn mower. We had so many great memories with Charlotte and Bob, glowing in their warm hospitality.
— Lauren Green