Richard M. Robb ’56

Dick died Nov. 6, 2023, in Brookline, Mass.

He came to Princeton from Lancaster, Pa., and participated in the marching and concert bands in addition to running the University Furniture Agency. A member of Campus Club, he wrote his thesis on “The History of Medicine” and he went on to earn a medical degree at Penn.

After a Harvard residency, he became a pediatric ophthalmologist, and eventually chief, at Boston Children’s Hospital, where he trained many of the country’s leading specialists. The chief at Wills Eye Hospital wrote, “Dr. Robb was an iconic figure, admired and emulated by a generation of Harvard Medical students … he was a warm and engaging colleague, beloved by patients and their families.” His successor at Boston Children’s said “he was chivalrous, courteous, and honorable, noted for his rock-solid demeanor, his kindness, and quiet good humor.”

Dick was a devoted family man and sailor taking his sailboat Tangle through many New England waterways. He also played in the Brookline Community Band while finding post-retirement time to travel and volunteer with Helen Keller International.

Dick is survived by his wife, Lucy; children Henry ’84, Erica Thaler ’86, and William ’90; and six grandchildren.