Robert A. “Bob” Maxwell (1939-2011)
ROCKY MOUNT, NC – Robert Allison “Bob” Maxwell, 72, died Thursday, December 15th, of cancer, at his home in Rocky Mount, surrounded by his loved ones and mementos of a life lived to the fullest. He will be remembered by his family, friends, and community as active, outgoing, friendly, and a loving and devoted husband and father with a great (if slightly twisted) sense of humor that stayed with him to the end.
Robert was born in Frederick, MD, on February 10, 1939, to Howard N. and Leona G. Maxwell (both deceased), of Delaware, OH. In addition to his parents, Robert was predeceased by his sister, Mary Maxwell Lombard.
Robert received his undergraduate degree in psychology from Ohio Wesleyan University, and his MAT in Political Science from Duke University, where he was both a graduate student and an administrative assistant. He came to Rocky Mount in 1965 to be the Director of Admissions at North Carolina Wesleyan College. After brief stints at Hiram College in Ohio and at Florida Atlantic University, Robert returned to North Carolina Wesleyan in 1971. In 1974, Robert followed the call of his life-long love of trains and joined the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad (later CSX) in an administrative position. The job he was hired to perform was never fully developed, but the railroad liked him and asked him what job he wanted. He told them, “I want to drive the trains.” And so Bob became a locomotive engineer, a position he would hold until he retired in 2004. After retiring from the railroad, Bob worked part-time for LaBar Exterminating.
Bob was active in the community as a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity, Kiwanis Club, the Tar River Astronomy Club, and in various model railroad clubs throughout the state. He was also passionate about minor league baseball, photography, computers, recreational vehicles, and the Clan Maxwell Scottish association.
Bob is survived by his wife and best friend of 31 years, Patricia Conyers Maxwell, of Rocky Mount; his sons Stuart (Louise) Maxwell, of Seattle, WA and Scott Maxwell of Pasadena, CA; his beloved cats Rocket J. “Rocky” Pussycat and Bullwinkle “Curmudgeon” Pussycat, and by many loving brothers-, sisters-, and parents-in-law, and nieces and nephews.
There will be a public gathering to share memories and stories among family and friends on Tuesday, December 20th, 2011, from 6:30 to 8:30 P.M., at Cornerstone Funeral Home, 1052 South 1st Street, Nashville, NC. There will be a private burial at a later date.
Those who wish to do so may make memorial donations to either the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center at UNC (for bladder cancer research), or to the Salvation Army.
The family’s deepest thanks go to all Robert’s loving friends, acquaintances, and service providers who supported him throughout his life, but particularly in the last few years, including the staff at the Lineberger Center at UNC and at the Eastern North Carolina Medical Group in Rocky Mount, the hospice doctors and nurses at Nash Health Care Systems, the crew at Krispy Kreme on Hwy 301, special Chapel Hill friend Robert Middour, everyone at LaBar Exterminating, the members of the Tar River Astronomy Club, and the many other people whose small kindnesses and simple gestures have been such a comfort.
