Robert Elmer "Bob" Shirrell Sr.

Died Saturday, October 2, 2010 at the age of 90 from a confluence of forces that would have more quickly vanquished many a younger man. Born in Santa Barbara on August 21, 1920, his childhood was highlighted by sailing, his favorite pastime. When his older sister won a scholarship to Mills College, their family moved to Berkeley. After graduation from high school, he worked a gold mine in Bodie and on the Ford assembly line in Richmond during its struggles with UAW union recognition. He enrolled at UC Berkeley as an engineering major, and there he met Barbara Ann Martin. They were married on May 9, 1942. A US Navy enlistee, he was promoted to Lieutenant. He worked in the shipyards of Alameda and was then deployed to the Pacific, using his engineering skills to help demagnetize their ship to make it less vulnerable to mines. The destination of the LST646 delivered her men and tanks on the beach of Iwo Jima, where Bob saw the original raising of the flag on Mt. Suribachi, as well as the more famous photographed ceremony that followed. Their first son, Robert, Jr., was born in Berkeley a year after he returned from the war. Moving to Santa Rosa in 1948, he opened Shirrell Motors, a Ford-Lincoln-Mercury dealership. In 1949, the Chinese government offered "a job he couldn't refuse" as an engineer with more money and benefits far beyond anything he could do here. Just when he and his family were ready to leave, Mao Zedong "made the Chinese government an offer they couldn't refuse," And so, their second son Stephen was born in Santa Rosa later that summer. A member of the Junior Chamber of Commerce, Bob worked with Charles Carniglia to restore the Rose Parade, a 32 year tradition that had been canceled in 1926. In 1953, when he started his work in the insurance industry, the Bob Shirrell most people knew emerged. After leaving New York Life Insurance, he began a half-century career as an independent agent. To poor to hire anyone, he learned by doing - thousands of spreadsheets by hand, detailing utilization and cost by category for every person or group he represented. He developed expertise in the patterns and evolution of health care costs. He negotiated contracts for the first HMO in Sonoma County in Washington, D.C., and administered health and dental programs for cities, counties, and schools from San Diego to Eureka and the Central Valley. He was also well known for developing "self insured" groups. He was the 'go-to guy' for insurance. After Barbara's death in 1976, he met and married Janne' Carlin, who was his unwavering and devoted helpmate for the next 34 years. He was an avid student of economics and politics, a great storyteller with stories of Vonnegut and Le Guin and the poetry of Omar Khayyam. In addition to his wife and sons, he is survived by his sister Jane, grandchildren Aimee and Gillian and great-grandchildren Ihlara and Owen. His kind and generous nature was loved by all. Thoughtful to the end, Bob requested no public funeral. Donations to remember Bob may be made to Santa Rosa Junior College Foundation, 1501 Mendocino Avenue, Santa Rosa, CA 95401. DANIELS CHAPEL OF THE ROSES FUNERAL AND CREMATION SERVICES 525-3730