Robert "Bob" Spring

Robert Walton and his twin brother Ira Lou Spring, were born in Jamestown, NY in 1918.

Raised in Shelton, WA and inspired by Boy Scout and family trips, they eventually combined their love of nature with early photography ventures, thanks to being gifted with cameras during the 50th Anniversary Eastman Kodak campaign in 1930.

During WW2, Ira was flown off to the South Pacific to undertake aerial photography. Bob toured Africa, Sicily and Germany with an army field hospital X-ray department and moonlighted as the unofficial Unit Photographer when medical duties permitted. He set up makeshift darkrooms and documented army life, occupied Europe and as the war ended, liberated Europe. Some of his photographs were gifted to the Holocaust Museum in Melbourne Australia in the 1990's.

Post-war, Bob worked with Ira to add to their extensive outdoor photographs, many of which were published in Life Magazine, Saturday Evening Post, National Geographic and many others. Bob and Ira Spring's work was featured in the Seattle Times Rotogravure/Pictorial and countless other newspapers for over five decades.

Alaska was his favorite subject, of which Bob and his wife Norma never tired. Bob photographed its people, wildlife and spectacular wilderness, and Norma wrote many books and countless articles about their beloved state to the north.

Members of the Society of American Travel Writers, they spoke and wrote compellingly about the power of international travel to create understanding and bonds between people, even when world governments were at odds. The 1970's saw Bob and Norma developing Alaska Airlines chartered flights to the USSR during the Cold War. Their work opened a back door to peace through international travel during these fear and suspicion-filled years.

Sole survivor of his generation, Bob spent quiet years of retirement in Bellingham following Norma's death in 2002. He entertained staff and fellow residents in several Bellingham assisted living and care facilities with slide shows and films of his life's work.

Bob Spring is survived by his three children, Terry, Jacquie and Tracy; ten grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

The family wishes to acknowledge the loving care provided to Bob by the outstanding staff at Highland Care Center in Bellingham and the supportive eldercare work of Leslie Shankman.

Memorial services will be announced at a later date.

Arrangements are with Moles Farewell Tributes, Bayview Chapel