Robert W. Astarita ’62

Bob died Jan. 18, 2019, of coronary heart disease.

He came to us from Bronx High School of Science, where he played tennis and was president of the Borough Student Government Council. At Princeton Bob rowed freshman crew, was assistant football manager, and was a member of WPRB, eventually becoming head announcer. At Elm Club he participated in IAA football, tennis, and basketball.

Following graduation Bob attended the University of Rochester Medical School, including a fellowship in pathology. In 1967 he married Barbara Jean Frawley of Rochester and moved to the University of North Carolina Memorial Hospital in Chapel Hill for his residency. Joining the Army, he was assigned to Letterman Army Hospital in San Francisco and then Brooke Army Hospital in San Antonio, where he was chief of hemopathology.

Following his military service the family moved to San Diego, where over the years he worked as a staff physician, professor, and supervisor in his field of pathology at the Scripps Clinic, the University of California Medical School, and the VA Hospital. In 1997 Bob moved to Austin, Texas, where he worked at both the University of Texas Medical Center and the VA Hospital. He supervised several VA departments of pathology in a large region of Texas. Bob retired in 2015.

Bob is survived by Barbara; daughters Kathryn, Erin, and Margaret; and grandchildren Haley, Jake, Keira, and Kiley. The class extends its sympathy to all.