Robert Lee Bagby

1943 - 2024

Robert Lee Bagby, known as Bob, died suddenly near his home in Destin, Florida, on March 13, 2024. He was 80 years old. His last hours were spent laughing and dining with his wife of 45 years, Barbara (Barb) Bagby, and close friends. He was a man who liked to control his destiny and was known to say he planned to die quick and happy. And that he did.

In addition to his wife, Bob is survived by daughters Belinda (Paul) Schmieg and Shannon (Guy) Robinson, and son Robert Lee Bagby II, all of the St. Louis, Missouri area, as well as stepdaughters Wendi (Boyd) Roberts of Placerville, California, and Teri Beth Gooch of Charlotte, North Carolina, both of whom he loved and raised as his own. He is survived also by his brother Dr. Jack Bagby and sister-in-law Connie Bagby of Springfield, Missouri, grandchildren Danielle Oliver, Tyler Schmieg, Natalie Robinson, Ian Roberts, and Luke Robinson, and great-granddaughters Sophia Schmieg and Savanna Schmieg, nieces Kate Blanco, Nan (Sean) Quinlan, and Susie (Sean) Foote, nine great-nieces and great-nephews, Isabel, Nico, Sophia, and Ben Blanco, Jack and Juliette Quinlan, and James, Weston, and Logan Foote, and brother-in-law Dale (Pat) Shore.

Bob was born on September 26, 1943, in the Kansas City suburbs, to Jack Milton Bagby, who was in the car business, and Florence (Sue) Bagby, who was a fixture in the Kansas City cosmetics scene. He grew up with his beloved brother, Jack, with whom he remained close throughout his life. He said many times that Jack was his hero and one of the few people he wholly trusted. Bob attended Shawnee Mission East High School and went on to graduate from Pittsburg State University with a degree in business administration.

Bob worked several jobs to put himself through college, while also being a young father. He once said he felt like the oldest 20-year-old in the world and wasn't ashamed by having worked as a janitor when he was young. He said, "No matter what your job is, give it your all. Respect the work and what you have to learn from it. Each job will teach you something. My janitor job taught me to be humble - and also that I never, ever wanted to be a janitor again." That work ethic would inspire his core values through his whole career. Bob was not fond of handouts or shortcuts, nor impressed by the Ivy League country club way of life. He was quoted as saying he'd hire a hard-working state-schooler over a silver spoon Harvard kid any day of the week. He liked grit, drive, and experience gained through the school of hard knocks. Bob deeply admired self-made individuals and maintained a soft spot for low-opportunity, high-potential talent throughout his career.

A lifelong student of the stock markets, Bob started in the brokerage business in 1967. He worked as a branch manager for regional brokerage Bache & Co., rising through the ranks until he joined St. Louis-based A.G. Edwards & Sons in 1975, as a branch administrator for the Southwest region. Through the 80s and 90s, Bob and Barb raised a blended family primarily in west St. Louis County. They enjoyed the lake life and some rather legendary times for much of the 80s, and there they met some of their closest and dearest friends. Bob loved entertaining colleagues on his cabin cruisers, almost in equal measure to the amount of complaining he did about the maintenance costs. He enjoyed hunting ducks and for decades attended a special annual deer camp hosted by his best friends.

At A.G. Edwards, by 1977, Bob advanced to assistant director of branches for the Central, Mid-Atlantic, and Pacific regions. In September of 1994, Bob's longtime mentor David M. Sisler, announced his retirement; Bob assumed the role of director of branches on May 1, 1995. It was one of the greatest honors of his career to step into the role held by David, a man Bob enormously respected and admired for the rest of his life. Under Bob's leadership of the branch system, the largely Midwest-focused brokerage saw sizeable expansion to the west coast, breaking time zone trading barriers that had previously limited the growth of regional firms. Bob was incredibly proud of his leadership team that grew the branch system by 33 percent, and financial advisor count by 25 percent. He was appointed to the brokerage subsidiary board of directors in 1980, the A.G. Edwards & Sons Executive Committee in 1989, and to the holding company's board of directors in 1995. Bob was appointed executive vice president and vice chairman of the firm in 1996.

Bob was named chairman of the board of directors and chief executive officer of A.G. Edwards & Sons on March 1, 2001. In the same year, he stood up the subsidiary A.G. Edwards Technology Group. He had a great deal of energy around advancing the firm's technology transformation and kept a vintage ticker machine in his office as a reminder that investment in technology was the single biggest driver of the business. In 2004, Bob was thrilled to ring the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange with a group of employees. Unusual for a hard numbers, ROI-obsessed businessman, Bob relished in driving creative and marketing efforts, including the modern wing and flame rebranding of the A.G. Edwards logo. Many former employees remember and still have their magnetic egg lapel pin collections, a culture-building effort Bob held dear in connecting with the A.G. Edwards community. He remained in his last leadership role through the 2007 merger with Wachovia Securities, where he briefly served as executive chairman. While he took responsibility for bearing the brunt of years of animosity post-merger, those who remained loyal reminded detractors that the deal saved many thousands of jobs in the St. Louis region, a fact that is often overlooked.

In 2002, Bob was honored by his alma mater with Pittsburgh State University's Alumni Meritorious Achievement Award. He was fond of telling people that his college was the only one whose mascot was a fighting gorilla. Those who knew Bob best knew he loved nothing more than singular possession of just about anything. Anything hard to attain was accepted as a challenge and badge of honor.

Bob possessed no shortage of self-confidence and was delighted about being featured in Jack Welch's 2005 book, WINNING. Throughout his career, he and Barb traveled to six continents and countless countries with A.G. Edwards' leadership and top producers. He loved sharing stories and photos of his overseas adventures. Their first African safari experience would spark Bob's long fascination with wildlife art, photography, and conservation. On every trip, he purchased a gold charm for Barb's charm bracelet, so she'd always have a memory of what they saw and discovered together.

During his career in St. Louis, Bob served on several civic and nonprofit organization boards of directors, including Civic Progress, Regional Chamber and Growth Association, and Stray Rescue of St. Louis. He donated Stray Rescue's first permanent shelter building and sponsored their fundraising events for many years. It was through Stray Rescue that Bob fell in love with his special black and white dog, Gracie, who gained quite a following at the A.G. Edwards offices. He supported Saint Louis Crisis Nursery and chaired their signature Celebrity Waiters event. He and Barb would continue to adopt shelter dogs and roadside strays into their late 70s. In retirement, Bob served on the board of directors of Panhandle Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), and supported Randy's Rescue Ranch, a large-animal sanctuary founded by his longtime friend, Randy Grim.

Bob retired in May 2008 and moved with Barb to Destin, Florida, where he lived until his death. He loved being on the water and spent many a meditative hour watching dolphins and sunsets, cocktail in hand, gaggle of dogs at his side. That was his happy place. He wanted to stay active in the business community post-retirement and served on the board of directors for Nash-Finch until May 2011. He entered into a real estate investment with his good Destin friend, Jerry Murdock, and together they enjoyed bringing to life Hotel Valhalla in the mountains of Helen, Georgia.

Bob was very proud of his older granddaughter, Danielle, who works with Missouri Department of Transportation, and grandson Tyler, a decorated police officer in the St. Louis area. Firm in his conviction to his opinions, Bob's eyes mostly twinkled, but it was not remotely difficult to decipher when he was in strong disagreement with a person or point of view. When his granddaughter, Natalie, was born in 2003, he softened in a way few people had seen before. That baby girl melted him. Inspired by her grandfather, Natalie is studying economics at Saint Louis University and interned at The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Bob was immensely proud of his grandson, Ian, earning his Eagle Scout honor in 2021, and of Ian's musical talents. Grandson Luke was born in 2006, and Bob was very proud of his track and field accomplishments. The younger boys enjoyed fishing with their grandpa and especially loved the fast cars.

With the charm of an entertainer, when it was time to party, no one laughed louder or danced longer into the night. Bob loved lakeside gatherings with Jack and Connie and their large international family. Among his nearest and dearest, Bob adored his classic country music, to which he sang unapologetically off key, and taking willing partners of all ages for robust swings around the dance floor.

Bob kept his circle of trust tight and maintained deeply special friendships that spanned decades. He dearly treasured his relationships with Karen and the late Dick Carr; John and Mary Clare Decker; Ron and Jan Kessler; Jerry and Gayle Murdock; Gary and Mitzi Stroup; Gary and Jan Sliemers; and Dr. Alex and Keri Rusnyk, who tried valiantly to save Bob's life in his final hours. Bob loved and lost many friends throughout his later years and made a special point to be supportive of their families.

To know Bob was to experience a man of many facets - a lifelong learner, a brilliant business mind, a lover of credible challenge, a fierce debater of political and economic policy, a collector of fine things, a giver of luxurious gifts, a bellower of contagious laughter, an unexpected crier over sappy movies and animal videos. He had uncanny skill in reading people and wasn't shy about giving assessments about who could and could not be trusted. He prided himself on possessing a top-tier BS detector.

Anyone who spent private time with Bob will recall his signature sayings, e.g., "It takes a lot of money to get a belly like this" and, "You can't hurt steel" and many others not suitable for print. His children and mentees will forever carry the phrasing of his most profound lessons, the most iconic being "there is no free lunch." He was an ardent proselytizer of earning the life you want, pulling yourself up by the bootstraps, and creating your success with hard work and continuous improvement. He had little tolerance for laziness, even less for slow drivers, but unmatched respect for integrity and self-propelled achievement.

Bob Bagby was larger than life, had a rarely exposed old-softy side, and felt truly at peace only when in the company of what he called the loyal few (inclusive of humans and dogs). His mentoring of strong women is reflected in the way Belinda and Shannon have so beautifully raised their daughters, Danielle and Natalie. His financial services acumen lives on through Rob's work as a Forbes-recognized financial advisor, and through the many thousands of employees who learned from him. His devotion to shelter animals lives on in Wendi's and Ian's shelter service and pet adoptions. His love of fashion and intense work ethic live on in Teri Beth. His protective nature and law-and-order stance live on as Tyler patrols the community while on duty. Bob's love of all things fast lives on as Luke runs like the wind. And through the most loyal of the loyal few, Bob lives on in Barb's kindness and strength, the example she sets in treating people with respect and compassion. The very best of Bob shines through in the woman who dedicated her life to loving him.

Bob attended Destin United Methodist Church and found peace and comfort there in his later years. It was Bob's wish to have no visitation or funeral service. His remains will be scattered during a private family boat ride, just as he wanted. If you'd like to honor his memory, please consider making a tribute donation to PAWS, Randy's Rescue Ranch, or an animal shelter of your choice - or by adopting or fostering an animal in need of a loving home.

Expressions of love and sympathy may be placed and viewed at emeraldcoastfuneralhome.com