Robert Archer Mason M.D.

Mason, Robert Archer M.D. BUSKIRK Robert Archer Mason, M.D., age 74, passed away at his farm on Sunday, June 6, 2021, surrounded by his loving family and his dogs. The son of Wiley Roy and Mary Ruffin Mason, he was born in Charlottesville, Va., and raised in the suburbs of Atlanta, Ga. A graduate of the College of William and Mary and Emory Medical School, his distinguished career in medicine started with the U.S. Navy. He was stationed at the U.S Coast Guard base in Kodiak, Alaska, where he spent his free time fishing king crab and exploring the untamed wilderness of the northern frontier. After his service, he moved his family to Long Island, where he continued his vascular surgery training and practiced medicine at Stony Brook University Hospital. Weary of the downstate bustle, he relocated his family to Saratoga Springs during the early 1990s and began a vascular surgery practice at Saratoga Hospital. Doctor Bob's southern drawl and humble character gave him a bedside manner that comforted his patients and made him popular with the hospital staff. He was an accomplished surgeon, but farming stole his heart. Over 20 years, he gradually built Long Lesson Farm, a sprawling 450-acre operation in Buskirk, with more than 130 cows and a dozen pigs. He enjoyed driving his tractors, weed-whacking fence-line, and caring for his animals. He proudly sold grass-fed Angus beef with Melanie and his son-in-law, Christophe at farmers' markets and restaurants throughout the Capital Region. When diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2016, Bob devoted his body and the remainder of his life to advancing research in the field, participating in numerous cancer studies. He was particularly grateful for the care given by the clinical research team at Weill Cornell. Bob is survived by Melanie, his soulmate and loving wife of 52 years; their daughter Shannon, son-in-law Christophe, and grandchildren, James and Eva; son Justin, daughter-in-law Jennifer, and grandchildren, Emma and Teagan; sister Alice and brother Roy; and his devoted yellow lab, Coriander. A celebration of Bob's life is planned for some time in July. In lieu of flowers, please send contributions to the Agricultural Stewardship Association, which preserves farmland in Upstate New York. Online remembrances may be made at www.chasesmithfamily.com