Robert Corley Heller

Robert Corley Heller passed away in the Arrowhead Regional Medical Center, Colton, CA, on December 6th, 2019, at the age of 71, with his daughter Cara, and son-in-law Tony at his side.

Bob was born on November 27th, 1948 in Lakewood Ohio, and lived in Bay Village, until the age of seven. In 1955 Bob and his family moved to White Plains, NY, followed by a move to Milwaukee, WI in 1958, and then to Chatham, NJ in 1961, where Bob attended Chatham Township High School. He very much enjoyed playing piano and bass guitar. Music was one of the great joys of Bob's life, along with his love for dogs, motorcycles, and boats.

Following high school graduation, Bob attended Villanova University, receiving a BA in Mathematics. After college, Bob enlisted in the Naval Air Corps, attending officer training school, in Pensacola, Florida.

Bob then moved back to the Philadelphia area, enrolling at Villanova again, earning an MA in Theater Arts. He was accepted by the Yale School of Drama, into their prestigious MFA program. Bob received his Master of Fine Arts - Design degree from Yale in 1977.

One of Bob's first professional positions was for the City College of New York, followed by a faculty position with SUNY at Stony Brook on Long Island. While teaching at Stony Brook, Cara Elizabeth Heller was born, on August 4th, 1981, with Bob's then-spouse Judith Wilkinson.

Bob enjoyed his work as a lighting and set designer, and he received tenure at SUNY at Stony Brook. Later, Bob accepted a position with the Theater Department at the University of Michigan. After several years in Michigan, Bob relocated again, to UCLA, teaching in UCLA's Theater Department.

From a career perspective, Bob transitioned away from teaching, and became a self-taught web designer for Sony Digital Entertainment, and later for Warner Bros., in Burbank. Bob retired from Warner Bros. at 65, and moved to Lake Arrowhead, California, where he enjoyed the lake, his boat and the company of kind neighbors.

Throughout his life Bob had a several dogs whom he loved dearly, most notably two Siberian Huskies (Barker and Nikita); and two Border Collies (Blue and Panda).

Bob is survived by his daughter, Cara Heller Caraffa, son-in-law Anthony Caraffa, granddaughter Rosemary Grace Caraffa, sister Patricia Anne Heller (David Lee Mowl), brother Thomas William Heller (Carol Amadio Heller), and nieces Katherine Tara Heller and Emily Elizabeth Liegel.