ROBERT BRUCE CROWDER

Robert Bruce Crowder Loving son, brother, uncle, friend, world traveler, diver, cultivator of orchids, baker of cookies. Born September 11, 1948 in San Francisco. Died October 17, 2010 while vacationing in Indonesia. Growing up in Walnut Creek, CA and Huntington, NY, Bobby collected rocks, bugs, and injured birds fueling a healthy curiosity of the natural world that would be a theme throughout his life When the Giants moved to San Francisco, Bobby, living in New York, became an ardent fan. One of his prized possessions was a baseball autographed by the entire 1962 team. Years later when Bobby moved back to the bay area, he became a season ticket holder, attending many spring training camps and knew that 2010 could be their year (like every other year). After leaving John Glenn High School in 1966 Bobby embarked on a long string of adventures starting with attending the University of Delaware, then his move back to the Bay Area. He served in the US Navy working on computers in nuclear submarines. He spent many summers searching for gold in the high Sierras, traveled throughout Mexico each fall and spent winters skiing in Squaw Valley. He received his BS degree in Biology from the University of Oregon in1977 and managed the Chi Omega sorority to its first appearance in the softball intramurals final. Soon thereafter he settled in Sausalito, CA and began a career in residential real estate with Frank Howard Allen in Greenbrae. He loved the people he worked with and built longstanding friendships with many of his clients who became extended members of his family. For Bobby, life was all about his family and friends. He was accepting and supportive of everyone and welcomed new members with open arms. As a friend you could also expect him to call you out when you needed it and trusted his motivation in doing it. Each Christmas Bobby would disappear for a few days reemerging with 150 dozen of his patent pending oatmeal cookies. You knew you were in good standing when he counted out your dozen. Bobby looked out for all his friends and family. Bob's greatest passions were scuba diving and underwater photography. He dived extensively in the Pacific, venturing to Palau, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, the Marshall Islands, and Fiji. He also dived in the Caymans, the Dominican Republic, and Baja California. Having been on thousands of dives, in recent years he became increasingly concerned as he witnessed increasing ecological damage to the undersea environment. Preventing the destruction of coral reefs due to blast fishing and agricultural runoff, and stopping the decimation of shark populations to satisfy the growing appetite for shark fin soup were of immense importance to Bob. When he wasn't diving, Bob developed a green thumb. An active member of the Marin Orchid Society, Bobby cultivated and nurtured over 500 Orchids at his Sausalito home. When not at home, he could be found in his parents' garden tending the raspberries, strawberries and vegetables and harvesting its bounty for the family. Bobby never met a tomato he didn't like. Bobby is survived by his parents, Jackie and Bob Crowder of Belvedere/Tiburon, his sister Sally Leonard of San Francisco, brother Jimmy Crowder and sister-in-law Gina Crowder of Portland, sister Peggy Campbell and brother-in-law Bill Campbell of Colorado Springs, niece Meagan Crowder of Denver, CO, nephew Nick Leonard of San Francisco, and nephew Bobby Crowder of Portland, OR. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, contributions in Bob's name be made to Coral Reef Alliance www.coral.org or Shark Savers www.sharksavers.org.