Robert Gregory Sabelhaus

1948 - 2020

Robert Gregory Sabelhaus

The legacy and life philosophy of Robert "Bob" Sabelhaus, born April 11, 1948, will forever be remembered as Carpe Diem. This motto guided his daily actions, prompting him to seize every available opportunity to express his generosity, kindness, optimism and love.

He lived in Nantucket, Massachusetts and Naples, Florida and died Sunday, September 6, 2020 at his home in Nantucket after a battle with cancer that he fought with grace and dignity. He was 72 years old.

He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Melanie (Radlick), his son, Robert Sabelhaus, Jr. married to Kate Sabelhaus and his daughter, Alexa Talamo married to Gerardo Talamo who have two beautiful daughters—Sofia and Marina, who adored their "Papa." His three siblings Debbie Simpson, John Sabelhaus and Vicki Harper and many wonderful cousins, nieces and nephews live in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Bob graduated in 1966 from Reading High School in Cincinnati where he was a three-sport athlete. In local legend, he is best known for scoring the winning shot at the buzzer during a conference championship basketball game.

He graduated from Ohio University with a BBA from the College of Business Administration, where he played freshman football and was a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity. His time as a busboy at the ADPi sorority house turned out to be fateful, as this is where he met his wife, Melanie, whom he married in 1970. To this day, she calls him, "busboy Bob." He was named the sweetheart of ADPi.

Bob enjoyed a 36-year career in corporate management, sales and marketing in the financial services industry. His capacity to build and motivate successful sales teams was a hallmark of his career. Bob began his career with Merrill Lynch in Cleveland, Ohio as a broker in 1972 and held management positions in Annapolis, Baltimore, Coral Gables and New York offices. He was a member of the Legg Mason management team and Senior Executive Vice President and Divisional Director of Smith Barney, a former division of Citigroup Global Markets, Inc.

He joined Legg Mason in 1986 where he was responsible for building the Private Client division and quickly rose through the ranks. In 2004, the firm was honored to be named the #1 Retail Brokerage Firm by J.D. Power and Associates. In 2005, he played a key role in the integration of Legg Mason Wood Walker's Private Client Group into Smith Barney as part of an exchange of assets with Citigroup. Bob was also an active member of the Security Industry Association (SIA), chairing the sales and marketing committee.

A longtime resident of Baltimore, Maryland, Bob was committed to the local community there as a member of the Board of Trustees of Notre Dame of Maryland University, McDonogh School, Jemicy School and a former member of the Foundation Board of the University of Maryland, Baltimore. He completed the Leadership Program of the Greater Baltimore Committee and went on to co-chair the United Way Campaign for Central Maryland with his wife Melanie.

He was a member of the Green Spring Valley Hunt Club in Owings Mills, Maryland, Great Harbor Yacht Club and Miacomet Golf Club on Nantucket, in addition to both the Naples Yacht Club and Royal Poinciana Golf Club in Naples, Florida. He enjoyed golf, boating and Ravens football.

Bob's friends enthusiastically feel "he is leaving a part of himself in all who were blessed to be his friend." A graveside funeral service and interment will be held 11:00 am Saturday, September 19th at Little Cemetery in Nantucket, Massachusetts. In lieu of flowers, the family requests a memorial contribution be made to: Nantucket Cottage Hospital Foundation, 57 Prospect St., Attn: Foundation, Nantucket, MA 02554, in memory of Bob Sabelhaus.

For online guestbook please visit www.johnlawrencefuneralhome.com.