Robert Kevin Stoneham

Robert Kevin (Bob) Stoneham

Bob was born January 3, 1943 in Brooklyn, NY, the fourth of five children born to Larry Stoneham, Sr. and Alice McCormick Stoneham.

The family moved to Millbrook, NY in 1946 and rented the top floor of the carriage house on Thorndale, the estate of the Oakleigh Thorne Family. A truly incredible place for youngsters to grow up - where the farmworkers and owners were a bit more than tolerant of our youthful escapades.

The owner's son, known to us as "Young Oak" taught Bob to fly fish in the pond in front of the Thorne family's home. And thus began Bob's enduring passion for the art of catching fish.

Bob graduated Millbrook High School in 1961, and scholastically, was maybe a bit better than an average student. Although in English class, he did manage to discover another of his lifelong passions -- the written word.

As an athlete... he excelled.

He was the quarterback for the Millbrook High football team that went undefeated and became league champions - a feat he reveled in for the rest of his life. Bob was a pitcher on the baseball team, had a wicked fastball and was probably one of the few ever to throw an unintended, errant curve ball into an opposing team's dugout.

And he was arguably one of the best divers ever to go off the three-meter board at the town pool. Good enough, in fact, that after graduation from Millbrook, he went to Cortland State College as a member of their swimming/diving team for a season. In his early thirties, he also became an accomplished tennis player with a devastating and demoralizing slice from both his forehand and backhand.

After Cortland State, Bob entered the army and spent most of his three-year enlistment at Fort Devens, MA. When discharged from the military, and after extensive research into numerous colleges, Bob decided to attend Belmont Abbey College in Belmont, NC. He graduated with a BA in English and subsequently became a media specialist for Mount Vernon College in the D.C. area.

He earned a Masters Degree in Library Science from Appalachian State University and following graduation, became a media specialist at Montreat-Anderson College in NC. Eventually, he became the Head Librarian at Fairfax High School in Fairfax, VA - a position he held until he retired.

Bob married Joyce Downey Keever in Gastonia, NC in 1968, and Bob, Joyce and her son, Marc Downey, from her previous marriage became a family. In 1972, Bob and Joyce welcomed a new member into their family - son Kevin Laurence Wyatt Stoneham.

Even though he'd lived in the environs of upstate New York, Bob was really not a fan of cold weather. So after years in Virginia (the last two with monster snow storms), Bob packed his shorts, tennis racquets, kayak, fishing rods and sunscreen and headed to Florida - where the weather was warm and where his son, Kevin, called home.

Bob eventually moved next door to Kevin, and about a year after that, moved to Arbor Terrace Citrus Park, an Assisted Living Facility a few minutes from where Kevin lives.

There, on Sunday, March 22, 2020, Bob succumbed to the ravages of time and the toll of relentless medical issues.

Bob was preceded in death by his Parents, his Sister, Patricia, and his Brother, John (Jack).

He is survived by his son Kevin Stoneham and Partner, Karen Pasawicz of Tampa, FL; his former wife, Joyce Stoneham of Southport, NC; his stepson, Marc Downey and Wife Melinda of Gastonia, NC; his grandchildren, Lacy and John Stoneham and their mother, Judy of Tampa; Amy McDaniel, Sarah Downey, and Elizabeth Whitford of Gastonia, NC; his Brothers, Larry and wife, Kathy of Verbank, NY; and Tom, of Poulsbo, WA; his Sister-in Law, Mona Stoneham, of Batesville, AR; his nephews, Pat Stoneham and wife, Debbie of Franktown, CO; Mike Stoneham and wife, Ellen of Johnstown, PA; Pete Stoneham and wife, Renee, of Manassas, VA; his nieces, Anne Stoneham Johanson of Venetia, PA; Kristi Stoneham Stack and husband, Mike of Monroe, WA; and Amanda Stoneham of Seattle, WA; as well as a multitude of other family members and friends too numerous to list here.

EPILOGUE:

A listing of where Bob lived and what he did, seems such an inadequate way to describe who he really was. Bob was a talented writer, poet, athlete, fisherman and scholar. He was also a man of principle - honest to a fault - who believed in doing what was right, in the right way. He was that friend you always wanted in your corner. He was generous in every sense of the word. He delighted in sharing his passions with anyone who was interested. He would surprise you with gifts you never expected but were delighted to get. And his quick, dry wit was another gift all unto itself. He was a caring and loving Brother, Husband, Father, Grandfather, Uncle and Friend. He was not a saint by any means and had his foibles, to be sure.

But he was also the type of man we all hope we can be.

So if someday, you find yourself with not much going on, and happen to think of Bob, raise a glass to him. And if you listen carefully, you just might hear the clink of his glass on yours.

For more information, stories about Bob as well as photos, please visit the website bobstoneham.forevermissed.com. And if you would, please leave your memories and comments about Bob, and any photos you may have of him.