Robert Willis Coller

He helped me and many though life every time I think about him I cry. He was a wonderful man.

I really miss him.

Missing you xx

I only just heard about this, via Metafilter, and I am devastated. Bob and I were friends on Metafilter, Twitter, and Facebook. Bob was such a sweet, sweet man, and his posts about his dogs were one of the best things on Facebook - his obvious delight and joy in them made my day whenever they appeared. His gentle sense of humor was an oasis in the angry sea that is social media.
I will miss you Bob. Thank you for your friendship, I will always treasure it.

Sharon Chistaine/MexicanYenta

Best friend for 4 years, growing up in Jackson, Michigan. Originally fishing together, we became trapping partners, learning and studying the outdoors together. Scouting out area streams and lakes before the season opened, we studied the habits of muskrats, raccoons, and mink. We subscribed to Outdoor Life and Fur, Fish and Game magazines, reading everything we could find. Bob, in later years, wrote several stories about those years. One was about us catching our first (and only) mink. He posted a picture of the Stone Arch Bridge that we fished from with the story.

In Mr. Owens Biology Class we hatched pheasant eggs and released the birds, we went tree frog hunting in the dark, made huge bug collections and grew begonias in the Frost greenhouse. Bob's Mom bought him an 8' Aluminum Jon boat; we carried out to Cove Lake and went fishing. Put my Dad's boat motor on a golf cart and took it out too. Drove around the lakes. Bob got a Schwinn bike with a gas motor that made it go quite fast, and he rode it around the neighborhood. We picked apples in the Orchard on the Beamon Estate. Talked with Mr. and Mrs. Beamon, they showed us the cider press at work and we brought home cider. We ice skated and played boot hockey on the Estate ponds by the Grand River. Built a raft like Huckleberry Finn and poled it up and down the Grand River (a large creek) and fished off the stone arch bridge. Hunted frogs in an abandoned swimming pool foundation beside the creek that ran down to Sharp's Lake. Rode bikes to the Vandercook Library, checking out science fiction books. And then on our bikes to Sharp Park Golf Course to hunt golf balls and sell them, using the proceeds at the new McDonald's down the street to get french fries and a milkshake. For 32 cents! Rode together on Bus 54, often singing out "Bus 54 where are you", like the popular TV show. We would ride, sitting in the front row, counting pheasants as we drove thru the Countryside. Hunted mice in deep snow with our BB guns, got our sleds and raced down the hill in Bob's back yard that went down into the neighborhood park. Bought Coleman Lanterns and went ice fishing on Vandercook Lake, staying till after dark. Built Balsa Wood model airplanes, some with little engines and chased them through the neighboring fields. Headed off to the brand new Parkside High as Sophomores, after 3 years at Frost Jr. High. And then Sears transferred my Dad, and as school ended, we moved away from my best friend.

Told my kids about those wonderful years, and our many adventures. Searched the internet when it first came out to look for information on the Beamon Estate and the surrounding area that we spent so much time exploring, and found Bob's stories about those years that he had written. Showed my kids, Abbey and Eric the picture of the Stone Arch Bridge, and they read Bob's tale of our success. A story by a friend that I had not seen since I was 15 years old. I have lived in Minnesota since college, and I have contacted Bob, a couple of times over the years. I tried to arrange a get together at the time of the 50th Class Reunion for Parkside, but it didn't work out. Bob, thank you for four wonderful years of friendship, adventure and building our love of the outdoors together. I will think of you often.

Your friend, Steven Nystedt

His presence online was amazing and filled with kindness, brilliance, and ferocity of spirit. The world is a little bit sadder and less wise without him.

Many of my fondest school memories were with Bob, Kay Christman, and David Newhouse. We were nerdy followers of our biology teacher, Clarence Owens. We caught frogs to feed his snakes and cleaned their cages. We volunteered to be teacher assistants for his summer school science programs. I can remember the four of us armed with butterfly nets rambling with herds of kids through the Cascades.
Later in life, we corresponded on Facebook. He was extremely proud of Wesley’s accomplishments and forwarded links about Wesley’s work. Bob and I shared similar ideas about social justice. I retired as a teacher for the Michigan Department of Corrections, and Bob’s life’s work was spent helping those challenged by onerous hardships. I still have a message where I stated: "As I look at your posts and photos, I can tell that you live your life respecting the better angels of the human species." Amen. Bob, we will miss you.

I'm a former student of COPE, and Bob was the first person I met he had his siberian husky with him which reminded me of my own, she was always with him, and we loved it when he brought her around. Bob was a laid back kind of dude. Always going out of his way to make sure we enjoyed our time at COPE. I am grateful to have known you as well as all of the staff at COPE. As I said in my Facebook post, y'all made me the man I am today, y'all helped me out immensely, and for that I thank you. I do wish we could've known each other longer, granted I made sure to keep in contact with everyone at COPE.

Bossman Bob,
I would like to tell you that you will be missed. You were my friend and boss for 17 years. You loved that I named my first son Maxwell, because your dad shared the name. You adored my Yukon and got yourself a Lara. I am quite certain that no one was more delighted then me, when you decided to bring her to work everyday. I think I loved her only second to you.
You were always so good to my children, beginning with Sarah and the tea parties in the secret garden, to Max and Ben enjoying game tickets.
As my boss, you always let me know I was up for the challenge, even when I had to teach math for over a month! Only you could make me believe I was capable in that situation. You cheered me on. Remarking on my practical ideas on how I would survive it. You were good at that, Boss-man Bob, you were really good at that. Your calm, slow manner is rarely found in today's world. You always had the answer for a computer problem, well, honestly, for a lot of problems. I wish I would have told you these things and how they impacted my lifes journey. You did leave an imprint on my life. I will miss you Bob but I will not forget you. I am hoping to see you on the flip-side once again. I hope you have found peace. Heartfelt love and always your friend,
Meg Maxwell

I worked with Bob for years. He was such a great man. You could feel his kindness ever day. He was never negative towards anyone . The office will never be the same.

I have been thinking of Bob since I received this news. We were scheduled to have an appointment at 2:00 on October 13th. We used FaceTime for our appointments. When I didn’t hear from him, I guessed one of us had noted it at the wrong time on our calendar. I figured we would catch up later, but that was not meant to be. During our visits, Bob would frequently share from his own experiences, in particular to help me with the transition of my son becoming a man and joining the Army; growing up. He was compassionate, kind, down to earth. His cats would often join our visits and we both appreciated their intrusions. I could tell Bob was a special human being. In reading his obituary, I learned so much more about him and my heart is heavy for the loss in the world of such an amazing soul. He spoke of his boys during our sessions and I could feel the love he had for them. It was evident. I’m so very sorry for Bob’s family as this loss was truly too soon. God bless you all. Bob, thank you for sharing your light.

I am so sorry to hear this. Bob was a longtime member of our online community MetaFilter, enough so it was in his Twitter bio. He had many friends and admirers there and we will miss his contributions, his helpfulness and above all, his kindness. May his memory be a blessing. Here is the thread on the site where we are remembering him.

https://metatalk.metafilter.com/25691/RIP-HuronBob

Dear Wes:

Your father and I went to school together. He was always kind, considerate, and well-liked and respected by myself and our classmates. I’m sorry to learn of his passing. Bobby did what he could to make our world a better place; I remember when my father passed away in the six grade, he went out of his way to connect with me and tell me that he was sorry. I knew even then, as an 11-year old, that Bobby Coller was extraordinary!

Sincerely sorry for your loss,
Mary White

This man... where do I start.... Bob I love you. You were there for me in my lowest lows and highest highs! You were my best friend. My rock that held me together. We went through everything together. I couldn’t have asked for a better five years with you. This weekend has been so hard for me. I just need a Bob appointment! Don’t worry Bob I won’t let you down, I will prove to you that I can do this. It won’t be easy. It will be hard. But I will get through it with you. I know you are looking over me right now. And telling me to be strong for you. I love you so much Bob. I’ll see you soon. Rest easy Robert Coller...❤

In 1966, at the end of one life, and the beginning of another, Bob and I went out at night, in his car, in the pouring rain. The rain beat down noisily on the roof and Bob would drive from bridge to bridge where we would park and he would say, “listen to the amazing sound of silence.” Those words have been with us and our entire generation. Bob had both silence and the gift of words. He has left the world and it’s noise, but taught us to be still and know ourselves, himself and the hope of peace.

I just received the letter from Advanced counseling that he has passed. Robert has been my counselor for the last 9 years. I have never been able to open up to anyone let alone just have someone I considered more like family to talk to about everything that was bad and good in my life without leaving. I've created losing him as my counselor because of the fear of being lost and having to start over. He has helped me through so much and my darkest time that brought the light of my life, my daughter. I will miss him dearly, he was a wonderful man.

Dear Wes,
I was saddened to hear of your Dad’s passing. I live at Portage now and would see him walking the dogs almost daily. I finally stopped and spoke with him because I was sure he was your Dad.
I’m so sorry for your loss.
Chris (Fesl) Hoard