Robert Willig

Born March 1, 1951 in Washington, D.C. to Marvin and Nora Willig.

He met his long-time love, Toni Brandmill, in 1973 at the University of Oregon in Eugene, OR. They married in 1994 in Rockport, Mass.

He is survived by his wife Toni Brandmill and his step daughter Ayla Jane Gams, both of Santa Rosa, CA. and by his sister Margaret Willig Crane and his nephew Roger Crane, both of New York City.

Bob was an expert on football, baseball, basketball, jazz, blues, barbeque, classic Jewish humor, Medieval philosophy, and the Beats. He was also a harmonica virtuoso, bibliophile, gourmet, bon vivant, raconteur, political radical, anarchist, world traveler, and even once studied to be a clown. There was no one else like him. He was a Mensch... an Uber Mensch.

Bob attended Maret School and graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in Washington D.C. He attended New York University, the University of Oregon and graduated from George Washington University with a degree in Comparative Religion and a minor in cinematography.

When Bob opened his bookstore, Troubadour Books (for Scholars and Holy Fools) in 1995 in North Hatfield, Massachusetts he built a collection that attracted scholars and buyers from California to England. He was famous for his book sales and always extended generous discounts to any who asked, with maybe a shot of Maker's Mark bourbon from below the counter, just for good measure.

Bob had a lifetime love for books and learning. His Junior High classmates didn't know what to make of the young man carrying around copies of books by the likes of James Baldwin. He was an avid supporter of independent bookstores in Washington, D.C. including Common Concerns and Vertigo, where he worked and helped them survive as an investor. From his voracious reading and book collecting he built up a huge personal library reflecting his many interests from Dante to Ginsberg and from Dario Argento to Alfred Hitchcock. When his groaning shelves could hold no more it was time to open his own bookshop and he used his collection as the basis for his legendary bookshop, Troubadour Books.

Troubadour was more of an open house or salon than a typical store. Bob and Toni were always ready to sit and talk and share stories. Their friends were always dropping by. How they managed to run such a neat and tidy bookshop that was bursting at the seams at the same time was a wonder. They made it look easy, as if they were born to this life. When Bob began to go blind in 2012 Sam Burton purchased and merged Troubadour with his shop, Grey Matter, in Hadley, MA. His shop is still open and thriving and is a worthy successor to Bob's legacy.

Bob is not gone from our lives. Bob abides. He had an unbounded passion and appetite for life, so we will remember and honor him by continuing that same legacy. Bob was a jigsaw puzzle of many parts, not one piece could be removed without missing the whole man.

To see Bob in top form be sure to watch the film "Two Guys Sitting Around Talking About the Used Book Business" available on YouTube.

Condolences and contributions to fund a Memorial Service can be sent to:

Bo Willie Foundation

c/o Toni Brandmill

20 Heyford Circle

Santa Rosa, Ca. 95401