Robert H. Roe ’48

Bob died in his sleep Oct. 16, 2024, in Columbia, Mo. He was 98.

Born in Fond du Lac, Wis., Bob served in the Navy during the World War II as a gunner aboard a destroyer. Just before he was due to sail to the Pacific, he was transferred to Officer Training School at Princeton. He took meals at Tower Club and majored in economics.

During his professional career, Bob worked in sales and marketing jobs with large corporations. “I traveled to every state east of the Mississippi while employed in a sales capacity,” he reported in the 10th-reunion yearbook. In 1956, sales positions took him to the Midwest and by our 25th, he was living in Ojai, Calif. He started his own business, Whopper Inc., in 1976, and ran the company until his retirement in the 1990s.

Bob married Mary Geraldine “Gerry” Reese in 1953, and they had six children. During their 46 years in Ojai they were active in the community, especially the Ojai Tennis Tournament, Ojai Music Festival, and many school and church functions.

Bob was predeceased by Gerry, his son Bob Jr., and daughter Claudia. He is survived by son Charles and daughters Constance Roe Burtnett ’77, Ellen Craig, and Jennifer Lovig; eight grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. Our class sends its sympathies on the loss of our fine classmate.