Robert M. Phenix Jr. ’68

Bob (often called Cowboy by his college friends) died Jan. 5, 2023, in Rockville, Md., of complications related to Lewy body dementia. 

Bob graduated valedictorian from Campbell County High School in Gillette, Wyo., where he was on the football, basketball, and track teams, the band, and chorus. At Princeton, he majored in psychology and was active in the Glee Club. He was a member of Cloister Inn and lived in 1937 Hall with Wayne Gehman, Ernest Gutmann, John Crumrine, and Ed Berthiaume his senior year. Bob’s Princeton graduation followed those of his father Robert Phenix ’35 and uncle Philip Phenix ’34. 

Bob was drafted into the Army immediately after graduation and was sent to Vietnam in 1969. After his tour of duty, he earned a master’s degree in education from Teachers College, Columbia University, and taught for several years before moving to Brookline, Mass. There he became an early software engineer for GCI in Cambridge, developing the precursor to PowerPoint. The company was first acquired by Lotus and later by IBM, from which he retired in 2007. 

Throughout his life, Bob pursued his love of music, singing in his church choir and later founding and directing a bell choir. He amassed a collection of atlases and maps and traveled globally, including to 48 of the  50 states. 

The class extends its deepest sympathies to Bob’s wife of 53 years, Kathy; daughters Rebecca and Laura; four grandsons; and extended family.