Robert Vivian
January 23, 1929 to April 8, 2021
Los Altos
Bob Vivian passed away peacefully with family by his side at home in Los Altos CA. He is survived by three children, Tom, Jim and Ann, and six grandchildren, Tim, Justin, Lilly, Bobby, Daniel and Melody Vivian. He was preceded in death by his wife Louise, son Joseph and granddaughter Julie. After graduating from St. Louis University in 1951, Bob Vivian began his career by joining the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War. After leaving active duty in 1954, Bob served in the Air Force reserves for more than 40 years. For many years, Bob worked as a computer systems engineer for IBM, who transferred him to California in 1973. He settled in Los Altos with his wife Louise and four children. After his retirement from IBM in 1987, he did consulting work for many Silicon Valley companies, finally retiring from computer work in 2000. Bob enjoyed playing bridge with his wife Louise. Bob also faithfully served his parish church, St. William of Los Altos, working with the church's finances and assisting with the annual rummage sale and other church events. Mass of Resurrection will be celebrated on Saturday, April 10th at 1pm, St. William Church, Los Altos CA. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County.

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Published by San Jose Mercury News/San Mateo County Times on Apr. 10, 2021.

Memories and Condolences
for Robert Vivian

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3 Entries

hwai-tai lam

April 11, 2021

Bob, Robert Vivian, our sweet friend is gone. A great loss for our Arise group which meets once a week to share bible teaching, spiritual encounters, and our life stories. As a first generation of immigrant from Taiwan, I experienced severe culture conflicts in my marriage, chauvinism vs. gender equality. Bob always showed his support and gave me hugs after I shared my pain and confusion.
Even though Bob is an old-fashioned and conservative man, he respected women and loved his wife dearly. He measured time by the days since his wife passed away and his story sharing was noted with very precise measurements, just like an engineer. In his funeral announcement, I finally saw the photo of Bob’s wife, Louise. What a beautiful lady!! No wonder Bob was so in love with her. She must have also been a very wise and dedicated wife to earn Bob’s respect and to raise four wonderful children . I can never forget the memorable 90th birthday party that Bob’s children gave him in the finest Italian restaurant in Mountain View. What I had never heard Bob mention was the loss of his son Joseph and his granddaughter Julie. Such a great pain that Bob and Louise endured together. I can imagine Bob’s big, kind, loving smile, hugging and kissing them now that they are all reunited in heaven. I am happy for you, Bob! Congratulations on passing over to an eternal life. Thank you for being my friend and for your loving support. I will miss you. Please say “Hi” to Jesus for me.

Friendship Forever,

Tai

Hwaitai Lam

April 10, 2021

Bob, Robert Vivian, our sweet friend is gone. A great loss for our Arise group which meets once a week to share bible teaching, spiritual encounters, and our life stories. As a first generation of immigrant from Taiwan, I experienced severe culture conflicts in my marriage, chauvinism vs. gender equality. Bob always showed his support and gave me hugs after I shared my pain and confusion.

Even though Bob is an old-fashioned and conservative man, he respected women and loved his wife dearly. He measured time by the days since his wife passed away and his story sharing was noted with very precise measurements, just like an engineer. In his funeral announcement, I finally saw the photo of Bob’s wife, Louise. What a beautiful lady!! No wonder Bob was so in love with her. She must have also been a very wise and dedicated wife to earn Bob’s respect and to raise four wonderful children . I can never forget the memorable 90th birthday party that Bob’s children gave him in the finest Italian restaurant in Mountain View. What I had never heard Bob mention was the loss of his son Joseph and his granddaughter Julie. Such a great pain that Bob and Louise endured together. I can imagine Bob’s big, kind, loving smile, hugging and kissing them now that they are all reunited in heaven. I am happy for you, Bob! Congratulations on passing over to an eternal life. Thank you for being my friend and for your loving support. I will miss you.
Please say “Hi” to Jesus for me.

Friendship Forever,
Tai

MaryAnne Stanislaw

April 9, 2021

Our beloved “Bob” was an important part of our Arise faith sharing group at St. Nicholas and St. William for going on 8 years. We met every Sunday night in person, switching to Zoom during the pandemic. Bob was active until he health kept him from joining is. He was our senior member and was generous in sharing his lifelong faith with us with love, kindness and patience. We looked to him to understand things he experienced before we were born. He was a man of strong faith, a family man, and a man who continued on the path of life through difficulties, disappointments, and loss, never doubting that God was with him. May he rest in peace with the Lord.

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