Robert James Cave

Robert James Cave was born on June 2, 1964 to Doris (nee Johnsen) Cave and Richard Cave in Warwick, RI. His death came as a shock on May 12, 2022.

Bobby, as he was called back in Warwick, attended the Warren A. Sherman School and Warwick Veterans Memorial Middle School before graduating with the Class of 1982 from Warwick Veterans High School where he threw javelin, took German and learned ravenously. He had an incredible mind, and was always looking to learn something new. He was almost as proud of himself as his mother was of him when he got into the School of Engineering at Columbia University. To everyone else, it was no surprise at all; he had the mind of an engineer, through and through. He was a proud member of the Lambda chapter of Psi Upsilon at Columbia, where he adopted his next nickname, Caveman. He technically majored in Chemical Engineering, but later explained that he actually didn't like chemistry - Hey, It made sense to him!

After graduating from Columbia in 1986, Bob came into his own, living all over the country; Mobile, San Francisco, New York City, Stanford and Hoboken. He also made travel a priority and was able to visit places like Italy, Portugal, France and Australia. While expecting his only child, he moved into a big, beautiful farmhouse in Chester, NH where he would live the rest of his life. At home, you could usually find him upstairs in his office writing some new program, whether it be a new app idea or setting up all the lights in the house to turn off at midnight; in the basement soldering a new motherboard for a computer he was building; in the den re-watching "Hunt for Red October" or "Blues Brothers"; or out in the yard on his trusty Black & Decker tractor from 1995 motoring around the rolling hills of his property.

The Caveman Pig Roast was an annual event at the Chester house, and in Bob's circle, the marquee event of any summer worth its salt. These parties were so important that Bob installed a permanent spit above the fire pit for roast pigs. Friends and family from all over the country would descend upon the dead-end, dirt road that would take them to the iconic party. At these gatherings, you could usually find Bob by the fire, tending to the pig, or making sure that everyone had a comfortable place to sleep; whether that be on the floor of the outdoor screen house or on the big overstuffed leather couch in his den.

If you were looking for Bob somewhere, you could always identify him as the man wearing a tie-dye shirt, white Adidas Stan Smiths, probably jeans and possibly a very festive Americana hat complete with tassels and bells. He would probably call you "Professor" or "Commander" as he shook your hand. And then he would be sure to fire off some movie quotes, and soon enough you would be fast friends. Although he was usually the smartest guy in the room, he never would make you feel like it. Bob was interested in whatever observation you had made about the world around you, and he would be happy to engage with you.

Bob's love of learning did not stop once he graduated from Columbia. He spoke a little bit of Spanish, French and German, and he had plans of learning Mandarin. He was always teaching himself new coding languages, and building new technological puzzles for himself to solve. The garage was full of the tools of a master woodworker along with car parts and all the necessary supplies to brew his own beer. He played the organ as a child, but then took it upon himself as an adult to teach himself guitar and the drums. He was able to answer nearly any question, whether it be about how a helicopter flies, how old the sun is, or even what else that-guy-from-the-movie-you-just-watched was in; and if, by chance, he didn't know the answer, he would be delighted to be able to learn something new right along with you.

Bob was good, though, in the end, his life was hard. He tried his very best to be a good father, a good husband, a good son, a good brother, and a good friend. Thank you to those who were able to see the good in him and who made his life a little brighter.

Bob is survived by his daughter, Alex (Alexandra) Cave; his wife, Kara Cave and her son, Nicholas Bernier; and by his brother, Brian Cave (Cherie Cave).

On June 2, 2022, those closest to him gathered to celebrate his birthday and share all of the larger-than-life stories that will have him go down in history along with all of the sweet memories that will allow him to live on in their hearts forever.