R Robert Geake

R. Robert Geake, Ph.D., beloved husband, father, psychologist, and Michigan statesman, passed away peacefully on February 22, 2026, at the age of 89. A man of deep intellect and quiet devotion to public service, Bob spent more than five decades in service to the people of Michigan and found equal meaning in the small rituals of family life at the Northville farm he and his wife called home for over sixty years.

Raymond Robert Geake was born on October 26, 1936, in Detroit, the son of Harry Nevill Geake and Phyllis Rae (Fox) Geake. He grew up in Ferndale and earned three degrees from the University of Michigan: a Bachelor of Science in Special Education (1958), a Master of Arts in Guidance and Counseling (1959), and a Doctor of Philosophy in Education and Psychology (1963). It was at Michigan, while volunteering at the Natural History Museum, that he met Carol Lynne Rens of Grand Rapids. They married on June 9, 1962, beginning a partnership of sixty-three years.

Bob began his career as a coordinator of child development research at the Edison Institute in Dearborn, then served as director of psychology at Plymouth State Home and Training School under the Michigan Department of Mental Health. He maintained a private practice in educational psychology in Northville, taught as an adjunct assistant professor at Madonna College in Livonia, and was recognized as a Fellow of the Michigan Psychological Association and listed by Marquis Who's Who.

His public service began with election to the Schoolcraft Community College board in 1969. He served three terms in the Michigan House of Representatives beginning in 1972, and was elected to the Michigan State Senate in 1977, representing Northville, Plymouth, Livonia, Redford, and part of Canton. He served in the Senate for twenty years, chairing subcommittees on Mental Health, Social Services, and Capital Outlay. He was co-author of the 1994 legislation creating Michigan's Office of Children's Ombudsman, a role Governor John Engler later appointed him to serve in 2001. Governor Engler also appointed him Michigan Racing Commissioner from 2002 to 2004. He received the Recognition Award from the Foundation for Improvement of Justice in 1993.

Away from public life, Bob was an avid genealogist who spent decades tracing the family's history - a pursuit that surfaced a passenger on the Mayflower, a reverend executed during the Salem witch trials, and a grandfather who helped engineer the Panama Canal. He was a devoted birdwatcher who kept a field guide by the window and never missed a rare visitor to the feeder. He and Carol made their home in Northville, a Civil War-era farmhouse they purchased one month after their wedding and never left.

He is survived by his wife, Dr. Carol Lynne (Rens) Geake; their four children, Roger, Tammy, Carolyn, and Will; and a legacy of service that touched countless lives across the State of Michigan.

The family welcomes memories from all who knew him.