Bob died April 7, 2010, at home in Chattanooga, Tenn.
Bob came to Princeton from University High School in Lexington, Ky. He joined Quadrangle Club but left at the end of sophomore year to assist his family. He graduated from the University of Kentucky and Harvard Business School. He then began an eclectic career in business.
Bob gravitated to Winston-Salem, N.C., where he started out in the cigarette business (he was quick to note that this was before the Surgeon General’s report). He then moved into the hosiery business as a marketing vice president for L’eggs. His employment required several moves, and in 1981 he was living in Greensboro, N.C. His marketing expertise led to his involvement in promoting the Winston Cup, a forerunner of NASCAR, and being an early backer of NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt. At the time of his death he was working on a book about his experiences in this milieu.
Following these more conventional occupations, Bob then started a birding tour company, Observ Bird Tours, leading groups throughout the West to places such as Colorado, Texas, Minnesota, and Manitoba.
Divorced a few years ago, Bob is survived by a son, Robert M. O’Dear III.