ROBERT OLMSTED

OLMSTED--Robert MacCracken. Robert MacCracken Olmsted, beloved husband, father, grandfather, uncle, cousin and brother-in-law died of pancreatic cancer in New York City on June 20. He was the son of Robert Groves Olmsted and Louise MacCracken Olmsted. He graduated from Green Vale, Eaglebrook, Pomfret School, Princeton University, and Columbia Business School. He spent his career as an investment adviser (for many years with Auchincloss & Lawrence) and couldn't start the morning without coffee, a cat, and the Wall Street Journal. An understated, humble, and gentle man, he was also a man of many passions, hobbies, and collections. He was an avid photographer and spent countless happy hours on beloved Adirondack and Central Park paths, as well as in his darkroom, trying to capture just the right light and contrast in a rocky stream or a stand of trees. Bob was fascinated by the mechanical intricacies of clocks and watches from an early age, when he first took apart one of his grandmother's clocks, and he collected pocket watches and clocks all his life. Monday evenings were busy for him, when he reliably wound every timepiece in the apartment. Daylight Savings changes required additional weekend planning. His time at Pomfret was formative and he spent most of his life as a Trustee of the school, dedicated to its progress. His early appreciation of classical music was broadened and reinforced by a college course, and the works of Bach, Haydn and others could always be heard throughout his apartment. Since he was so appreciative of classical music and the arts, his time on the board of MacDowell was extremely meaningful to him, as were his many years on the board of The Wyndham Foundation in Grafton, VT. He also served on the board of Wallack Management three times in the 50-plus years that he lived there. He was predeceased by parents and his sister, Nancy Olmsted Kaehr. He is survived by his wife, Stephanie Ligon, his daughters, Kate and Lexie Olmsted and their respective husbands John Grossman and Ly Tran, and his grandchildren, Eliza, Charlotte, and Xander Grossman and Will and Katie Tran, as well as his stepmother, Mary Manfrey Olmsted, and his brother-in- law, Michael Kaehr. Sisters-in-law Jan Brown (Mike Brown) and Karen McCormick as well as their children Courtney and Hilary Brown and Nick and Ali McCormick.