Robert Harold Gilbert

Robert Harold Gilbert
Robert Harold Gilbert, WWII veteran, Seagram Company executive, Bama football fan, and golfer extraordinaire, was born in rural Alabama over a century ago on April 15, 1924. He was the third child born to Flora Gruner and Charles Gilbert who were hard-working cotton farmers. When Bob was barely tall enough to reach the plow handles, he and his older brother Charles helped their father plow the fields by taking turns leading the mule team. They also helped with tree felling with the boys working together on one side of the cross-saw. His older sister Letitia and younger sister Sarah helped with the farm chores as well. Bob attended the one-room schoolhouse in Brilliant until the family moved to Tuscaloosa when Bob was 8 due to the Depression woes for cotton farmers. After Bob's father contracted TB working at the VA Hospital, the family's financial situation became even more dire. One year a Salvation Army basket was their only Christmas.
Bob always worked, spending summers helping on his uncle's cotton farm or working for his aunt's service station in Memphis. When he was a senior in high school he worked in a paper mill at night. Bob was crazy about sports, especially basketball and football which he played at Tuscaloosa County High.
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Bob enlisted in the Navy where he served on the USS Charles Carroll, an amphibious transport which made the invasion of Omaha Beach in France, and later Okinawa in the Pacific. After his Naval service ended, Bob returned to "sweet home Alabama" where he attended the University of Alabama on the GI Bill. After his marriage to Bettye Lawrence in 1946, the couple moved to Atlanta, Georgia, where Bob worked at a service station during the day and attended night classes at the Atlanta division of the University of Georgia (now Georgia State).
After graduating in 1951 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, Bob began working for Joseph E. Seagram & Sons in Louisville, Kentucky, where his daughter Barbara was born in 1954. He joined his wife and in-laws in attending horse races, especially the Kentucky Derby. His work in the quality control lab led to a promotion to New York City, followed by another advancement to Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. In 1971 Bob was promoted to Director of Quality Control of Domestic Brands. The Alabama farm boy now had an office overlooking Park Avenue at the Seagram Building in Manhattan.
Bob became a commuter after he and his second wife Emily Storey moved to Greenwich, CT. They enjoyed vacation travel and golf until her untimely death in 1979 from cancer. After Bob became Director of International Quality Control in 1982, his work took him to Scotland, Ireland, Canada, Puerto Rico, Argentina, Japan, Korea, Australia, and New Zealand.
Bob golfed whenever and wherever he could with Myrtle Beach, SC, being his usual vacation golfing destination for several decades. Vail Golf Course became a favorite location after Bob and Carolyn Coulter were married there in 1983. When Bob retired from Seagram in 1986, he was able to head to the Bruce, now the Griff, nearly every day. Bob served on the Men's Club Board of Directors as Handicap and Tournament Chairman. Bob was very supportive of Carolyn's career as a kindergarten teacher at North Mianus School, and after she retired in 2004 Bob was actively involved in her volunteering, helping with many deliveries of Smith College Scholarship Fund pecans.
Bob's love of road trips involved sightseeing visits to 49 states in addition to yearly trips to Carolyn's family in Colorado and to his family in the South. Bob was always physically active; he walked 18 holes of golf carrying his golf bag for as long as he was able; riding in a cart was OK but playing only 9 holes was not considered "real" golf. Bob was an accomplished chef, and he enjoyed serving Southern specialties to family and friends.
Bob remained mentally sharp by reading, by solving daily Sudoku puzzles (even the 5 stars) and by working the New York Times crossword puzzles. Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune were favorite TV shows along with SEC college football, the NFL games, and the PGA tour. After Bob was no longer able to golf, there was always a challenging 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle on the dining room table. When he turned 99, Bob finally decided 500-piece jigsaws puzzles would be considered an acceptable challenge.
Bob's daughter Barbara, who lives in Naples, Florida, with her husband Doug, custom designed special jigsaws which father/daughter enjoyed working together on her frequent visits. On December 22, 2024, four months short of his 101st birthday, Bob passed away peacefully with hospice support in his own home surrounded by love. A celebration of his life will be held later. Roll Tide!