Robert "Bob" Gross

1941 - 2021

Robert "Bob" Gross

October 20, 1941 - November 6, 2021

Robert Joseph Gross was born in New York City on October 20, 1941, to parents, George and Ilona Gross, immigrants from Hungary. He attended Stuyvesant High School and Julliard Conservatory studying violin. His undergraduate work was done at Brandeis University. Following two years in the Peace Corp in Sierra Leone Bob earned a Masters degree and began work on a PHD, then decided to join the U.S. State Department and moved to Ethiopia for two years. After that he served the Office of Economic Opportunity in Pendleton, Oregon, and Schenectady, New York. A few years later he moved to Montreal, Canada, where he worked for the Protestant School System in the area of vocational education. Following this, Bob moved to San Diego and started a successful School Without Walls company. Several years later he and his wife at the time sold the business to Learning Annex and moved to Shannon Farm in Nelson County, Va.

In 1996 he started attending the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Charlottesville where he met his third wife, Jean Shepard. Bob was very involved in working toward anti-racism in UUCville, UUA and in the wider Charlottesville community. He served on anti-racism committees at the local, district and national levels. One of his prides was the founding of the Charlottesville African American Teaching Fellows project which sought to find and support highly qualified African Americans as they prepared to become teachers in the Charlottesville and Albemarle County school systems.

Beginning in the 1990's Bob was one of the four founding members of the Piedmont Chamber Players who played at many engagements throughout Virginia. Chamber music fed his soul.

Bob passed away on November 6, 2021, of complications from a fall. There are no plans for a funeral.