Bob was a professor and author. He was a life-long learner and supporter of the environment. Bob attended the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington and received his PhD in church history from the University of Chicago. He taught at Fairhaven College at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington. His classes at Fairhaven ranged from the Grand Canyon to the Columbia River, Native American history, forests, basic mountaineering, Supreme Court history, and death and dying. In 1980 he received Western’s Distinguished Teaching Award. Bob also taught in Western's History Department and in the Huxley College of the Environment.