Robert Proctor

Robert Swope Proctor June 15, 1922 - March 30, 2010 Born June 15, 1922 in Columbus, Ohio, died March 30, 2010 in Carson City, Nevada, after a long illness and a bad fall. At the end he still remembered his wife Mary, who cared for him until his death, and his son Bob and daughters Jill, Candy, Ann, and Kit, 8 grandchildren and 1 great-grandchild. As a young child, Bob moved to Rainier, Oregon with his parents William E. and Elsie M. Proctor, his sister Jane, and brother Bill, who all preceded him in death. Bob grew up in Oregon and graduated from Rainier High School, where he lettered in baseball, basketball, and football. He attended Oregon State University on a football scholarship, practically choosing that over the other sports because it had the shortest season. He played offensive and defensive end on the winning Rose Bowl team against Duke University in the only Rose Bowl game ever played on the East coast, less than four weeks after Pearl Harbor. He served in the Army Corps of Engineers during World War II. He met Mary Thornton at OSU and married her in Chicago on December 31, 1945 while still in uniform. After the war he returned to Oregon State to earn his MS in Mechanical Engineering. He appreciated his education from OSU and established an engineering scholarship there. In 1948, he started his long career at Chevron Corporation at the Richmond Refinery. During this time, he lived with his family in Richmond and then in a rambling, hillside home in El Cerrito, where he used his handyman skills to fix cars and televisions and almost complete the unfinished basement. Bob's technical savvy, combined with his negotiating skills, hiring talent, and ability to work with people of all backgrounds, led to a series of promotions at Chevron from 1964 to 1971. The family moved to Bakersfield, CA to Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, to El Segundo, CA and finally to Tiburon, CA where Bob enjoyed commuting to San Francisco by ferry for his job as VP of Manufacturing. Throughout this period, his wife Mary managed all the moves and new households and helped her children in their new schools and activities. Bob retired from Chevron in 1984. He and Mary moved to their dream home on Lake Tahoe. In retirement, Bob enjoyed coaxing his family and friends into the lake, growling and chasing his grandchildren around the fireplace, gambling at casinos, and watching games on television. He was a good sport about traveling with Mary to many places around the world. Bob was known for his ability to fix anything broken, his willingness to "supervise" the cooking, and his extremely competitive spirit at the game table, on the playing field, and in the water. We will miss the way he kept everyone on their toes with probing questions, brain teasers, small wagers, and political discussions. When the chips were down, he could always be counted on. His family held a memorial weekend and service last July at his beloved home on Lake Tahoe in Zephyr Cove, Nevada.