memorial for my Uncle Bob
Oct. 11th, 2009 11:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
edenfallingMy uncle Bob died on September 7th. His memorial service was this Saturday, October 10th, down in Springfield, Virginia.
I flew down to D.C. on Friday morning, into Reagan National airport. I met Ardis, Bob's cousin Judy, and Judy's husband Jack, and we were all picked up by Bob's brother, Bruce. Ardis and I checked into our hotel; after an hour or so, my parents and sister also arrived, and we went over to Jan and Bob's house for a family dinner.
The memorial was at 10:30am in Springfield Christian Church. Family sat in the center pews, with friends to the right and left. Bob's ashes were on a table up front, in a wooden urn made by my cousin Brian.
We opened with a prayer and the hymn "Come and Find the Quiet Center." Then we moved on to remembrances: by my dad, by Bob's cousin Dan, by three of Bob's Census Bureau coworkers, and by a friend from Jan and Bob's ski club; a few family members also spoke briefly. Then there was a musical solo followed by the Lord's Prayer. We closed by singing "Amazing Grace" and reciting the 23rd Psalm.
I held it together through most of the service, and even laughed at several points in the remembrances. It was a good service. Bob would have liked it. He always loved jokes. But "Amazing Grace" just broke me. We only sang two verses -- the first and fourth -- and I could not sing more than about five notes once I hit the halfway point of the first verse. I was crying too hard.
After the service, there was a reception in the fellowship room, prepared by some church members who take that sort of thing as their fellowship ministry. That petered out around 3:30pm, after which we went back to our hotels to change into less formal clothes. Then family and some close friends regathered at Jan's house for something that was part family reunion, part sharing of memories, part haphazard dinner, and part... well, almost a party, in Bob's honor.
We took photographs for him. Uncle Bob loved taking photographs. He loved parties. He loved family.
He should have been there.
This is the obituary from the memorial's order of service [all errors sic]:
Robert Wyman Marx was born on August 27, 1942, in Chicago IL. He was delivered by Dr. Marshall Field. His parents, Wyman and Bernice, liked to say "We got him at Marshall Fields, isn't he wonderful?" Wyman worked for the mail service on the railroad, and was transferred to Minneapolis, MN where brother Bruce was born, three years his junior. Bob attended Cooper Elementary, Sanford Junior High, and South High schools. Bob was a Cub Scout and enjoyed family camping trips.
During high school he worked for Red Owl grocery stores and in college he worked with a city planning firm, Hodne Associates.
Bob commuted to the University of Minnesota where he tried the College of Pharmacy, discovered chemistry was not his forte, but learned that he loved geography. He obtained his Bachelors degree and took the courses for his Master's degree. He had an offer to come to the Census Bureau in D.C. and speculated that he could find information there for his Master's thesis. Even though that didn't happen, his advisor at U of MN was very proud of him.
Bob has always been interested in the outdoors and found the Skeewaksures, a canoe/ski club at the U of MN agriculture campus in St. Paul. He invited his cousin, Dan, to attend and it was there they both met their wives. This group has kept in touch ever since.
Bob and Jan were married in December 1965 and Bob accepted that Census Bureau job the next spring. Through Jan's job as an Occupational Therapist, they joined a newly founded Potomac Valley Skier which grew to be their extended family. Both of them have worn many hats in the group as well as experiencing snow in many states and countries.
Bob loved his job and the people at the Bureau. During his 36 years he used his foresight and creativity to accomplish a great deal for the Geography Division and its vital role in the US Population Census. After 1980, named Chief of the division, he worked with the US Geological Survey to digitize all map making for the 1990 Census. In 1994, he was named Associate Director for Decennial Census, a 3 year assignment. The digital mapping program (TIGER) that was developed is the basis for the private companies who provide us with such references as MapQuest and GPS. He was awarded many honors including the Department of Commerce's Gold and Silver Medals, and the Meritorious Presidential Rank Award. Bob also received Lifetime Achievement Honors from the Association of American Geographers and the MN GIS/LIS Consortium.
Maps and travel go together, and they have had the opportunity to explore many countries, such as; Australia with their sons, Indonesia, India, Argentina (to ski), and southern Africa.
Most of all, he loved people, especially his family. More often than not, he would be down on the floor or out in the yard with the kids and grandkids.
I flew down to D.C. on Friday morning, into Reagan National airport. I met Ardis, Bob's cousin Judy, and Judy's husband Jack, and we were all picked up by Bob's brother, Bruce. Ardis and I checked into our hotel; after an hour or so, my parents and sister also arrived, and we went over to Jan and Bob's house for a family dinner.
The memorial was at 10:30am in Springfield Christian Church. Family sat in the center pews, with friends to the right and left. Bob's ashes were on a table up front, in a wooden urn made by my cousin Brian.
We opened with a prayer and the hymn "Come and Find the Quiet Center." Then we moved on to remembrances: by my dad, by Bob's cousin Dan, by three of Bob's Census Bureau coworkers, and by a friend from Jan and Bob's ski club; a few family members also spoke briefly. Then there was a musical solo followed by the Lord's Prayer. We closed by singing "Amazing Grace" and reciting the 23rd Psalm.
I held it together through most of the service, and even laughed at several points in the remembrances. It was a good service. Bob would have liked it. He always loved jokes. But "Amazing Grace" just broke me. We only sang two verses -- the first and fourth -- and I could not sing more than about five notes once I hit the halfway point of the first verse. I was crying too hard.
After the service, there was a reception in the fellowship room, prepared by some church members who take that sort of thing as their fellowship ministry. That petered out around 3:30pm, after which we went back to our hotels to change into less formal clothes. Then family and some close friends regathered at Jan's house for something that was part family reunion, part sharing of memories, part haphazard dinner, and part... well, almost a party, in Bob's honor.
We took photographs for him. Uncle Bob loved taking photographs. He loved parties. He loved family.
He should have been there.
This is the obituary from the memorial's order of service [all errors sic]:
Robert Wyman Marx was born on August 27, 1942, in Chicago IL. He was delivered by Dr. Marshall Field. His parents, Wyman and Bernice, liked to say "We got him at Marshall Fields, isn't he wonderful?" Wyman worked for the mail service on the railroad, and was transferred to Minneapolis, MN where brother Bruce was born, three years his junior. Bob attended Cooper Elementary, Sanford Junior High, and South High schools. Bob was a Cub Scout and enjoyed family camping trips.
During high school he worked for Red Owl grocery stores and in college he worked with a city planning firm, Hodne Associates.
Bob commuted to the University of Minnesota where he tried the College of Pharmacy, discovered chemistry was not his forte, but learned that he loved geography. He obtained his Bachelors degree and took the courses for his Master's degree. He had an offer to come to the Census Bureau in D.C. and speculated that he could find information there for his Master's thesis. Even though that didn't happen, his advisor at U of MN was very proud of him.
Bob has always been interested in the outdoors and found the Skeewaksures, a canoe/ski club at the U of MN agriculture campus in St. Paul. He invited his cousin, Dan, to attend and it was there they both met their wives. This group has kept in touch ever since.
Bob and Jan were married in December 1965 and Bob accepted that Census Bureau job the next spring. Through Jan's job as an Occupational Therapist, they joined a newly founded Potomac Valley Skier which grew to be their extended family. Both of them have worn many hats in the group as well as experiencing snow in many states and countries.
Bob loved his job and the people at the Bureau. During his 36 years he used his foresight and creativity to accomplish a great deal for the Geography Division and its vital role in the US Population Census. After 1980, named Chief of the division, he worked with the US Geological Survey to digitize all map making for the 1990 Census. In 1994, he was named Associate Director for Decennial Census, a 3 year assignment. The digital mapping program (TIGER) that was developed is the basis for the private companies who provide us with such references as MapQuest and GPS. He was awarded many honors including the Department of Commerce's Gold and Silver Medals, and the Meritorious Presidential Rank Award. Bob also received Lifetime Achievement Honors from the Association of American Geographers and the MN GIS/LIS Consortium.
Maps and travel go together, and they have had the opportunity to explore many countries, such as; Australia with their sons, Indonesia, India, Argentina (to ski), and southern Africa.
Most of all, he loved people, especially his family. More often than not, he would be down on the floor or out in the yard with the kids and grandkids.
