ROBERT SHORB

1931 - 2020

SHORB Robert Henry Shorb (Age 89) Died peacefully of natural causes on Tuesday, May 19, 2020. A lifelong Washingtonian, Bob - or "Shorbie" as he was known to his close friends - was born on February 7, 1931, to Paul Edgar and Gertrude Healy Shorb. Bob entered Beauvoir in 1936 and had the dubious privilege of being asked to repeat kindergarten. An event which some might consider to be the inauspicious start of an educational journey Bob proclaimed to be the best thing that ever happened to him. In the fall of 1937, he was introduced to his new classmates as "Bobby", the "seasoned veteran" who would help them find their cubbies, the bathrooms, and the shed where the balls and toys for recess were kept. It was thus that his inherent leadership talents began to emerge. Bob moved on to St. Albans School, graduating in 1949. He served as Prefect, Class President, and President of the Athletic Association. He excelled at football, wrestling, and baseball and won the Rice Award, given to the school's best all-around athlete, in both his junior and senior years; the Evening Star named him Metropolitan High School Athlete of the year in 1949. He graduated Cum Laude and received the Thomas Hyde Medal, awarded to the best all-around boy in the Upper School. Bob attended Williams College, where he earned a BA in American History and Literature in 1953. A week after graduation, he married Katherine "Teeny" Wilson Miller and that fall they moved to Cambridge, Mass. where Bob commenced studies at Harvard Law School. He served on the Law Review and received his LLB in 1956. Upon graduation, he joined the DC law firm of Pogue & Neal where he was made a partner in 1961. He played a major role in negotiating Pogue & Neal's merger with the Cleveland firm of Jones, Day, Cockley & Reavis in 1967. During his career at Jones Day, he served as a member of the Partnership and the Advisory Committees, becoming National Administrative Partner in 1989-1990 and Of Counsel 1991-1992. He was a Life Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and a member of the American Bar Association and the DC Bar Association. He retired from Jones Day in 1992, having worked for the same firm his entire career. Shorbie had legions of friends who considered him a true gentleman, always gracious and good humored, a generous mentor and an inclusive and loyal ally who demonstrated unfailingly good judgment. He was a master at mediating compromise through humor and diplomacy, able to disagree without being disagreeable. In the mid 1960's Bob served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Potomac School where he chaired the newly created Plans and Policies Committee. The charge of this task force was to explore the diversification of the student body and the initiation of a program of financial aid; this charge was subsequently expanded to include the concurrent diversification of Potomac's faculty. He drafted the summary findings of what became known as the "Shorb Report"; this report, which recognized the need for the representation of all racial, ethnic, economic, and geographic populations within the school community, became the foundation of Potomac's diversification efforts. He played a central role in St. Albans' capital campaign in the late 1960's and twice served as Chairman of the Governing Board. His second term as chair began in July of 1997 during the most divisive period in the school's 88-year history after the Headmaster had been discharged by the Board and the entire Board had subsequently been discharged by the Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Cathedral Foundation. Working in conjunction with Acting Headmaster "Gentleman Jack" McCune, a beloved former teacher, History Department chair, and Upper School head who had also been recruited out of retirement for the purpose of "putting the wheels back on the cart", Bob reconstituted the Board and he and Jack were able to reconcile bitterly opposed constituencies and refocus the entire school community on a path forward, embracing the school's long honored values of civility, decency, and mutual respect. In 1999, concurrently with his Board duties at St. Albans, he served as the honorary alumni co-chair of Beauvoir's capital campaign and in 2008 was the recipient of Beauvoir's Alumni Achievement Award. In his remarks he recognized how the time he spent at Beauvoir was the foundation of all that came after, using his trademark self-deprecating manner to acknowledge that this five year stint included two tours of kindergarten. Bob was a lifelong baseball fan, first with the Senators and he readily and gleefully transferred his allegiance to the Nationals when they came to town. In his early teens, he would take the bus and the streetcar down to Griffith Stadium where "...they would admit you to the bleachers if you had your student streetcar ticket. Then you'd chat up the ushers and after about two innings they'd let you slip into the general admission section. And then, inning-by-inning, you'd hopscotch your way down into increasingly better seats and by about the 6th inning, you'd usually be able to get within a couple of rows of 1st base." In 1944, he saw 43 home games and in 2007 he had the thrill of throwing out a ceremonial first pitch at a Nats/Braves game. But for Bob, the pinnacle was the Nationals' 2019 World Series victory last fall; he allowed as to how he didn't remember watching the Senators losing effort in the 1933 series since he was only two years old at the time. However, when the Nationals stormed past the Astros in Game 7 to clinch the title, this dedicated fan declared that, when the time came, he would die in peace with the World Series trophy back in Washington after 95 years. He served on the boards of the Metropolitan Club and the Chevy Chase Club; in the instance of the latter, he served as the President of the club in 1977-1978 and as Pooh Bah of the Coursestormers in 1997-1998. He had also been a member of the Gibson Island Club, the Monterey Country Club, the Boulders Golf Club, and the Wianno Club. Bob and Teeny were avid golfers and visited many renowned courses around the world, usually with other couples who were lifelong friends. They took great pleasure in actively participating in the planning and design of several of family homes, including an award-winning home in Glen Echo Heights, a weekend home in the Blue Ridge Mountains, vacation residences in Carefree, Ariz., and Osterville, Mass., and their striking Chevy Chase home. Teeny Shorb passed away on June 4, 2007; they had been married for 54 years. In the summer of 2008, Bob was re-introduced to Margot Strong Semler whom he had known from his St. Albans years when she was a student at the National Cathedral School. They were married on October 17, 2009 and enjoyed almost a decade of what they referred to as "bonus time", including annual visits to her summer home in Blue Hill, ME. Margot passed on February 12, 2019. Survivors include his brother Paul Edgar Shorb, Jr. of Potomac; three children, Kim Shorb of Bethesda, Bob Shorb Jr. (Liz) of Chevy Chase, and Chris Shorb (Kris) of Bethesda; seven grandchildren, Molly and Chris Jaffe; Hank, Charlie and Murphy Shorb; and Jenifer and Benjamin Shorb; and three stepsons, Parker, Christopher, and Michael Semler. A memorial service to celebrate his life will be scheduled at a future date. Charitable contributions in his name may be made to the Annual Fund at St. Albans School, 3101 Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington, DC 20016 or to a charity or organization of your choice.A memorial service to celebrate his life will be scheduled at a future date. Charitable contributions in his name may be made to the Annual Fund at St. Albans School, 3101 Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington, DC 20016 or to a charity or organization of your choice.