On the Passing of Robert Shields

I went to a funeral this weekend.  My favorite teacher and mentor died.  I spoke a few impromptu words of remembrance and appreciation to the gathered family and friends during the service in the funeral home.  Here is what I would have said if I had more time to think about it...and was better on my feet.

Bob Shields was a biology professor at The City College of New York.  He was recognized as the campus-wide Teacher of the Year the second year the award was given.  It was under Bob’s tutelage that my interest in biology found its place.  Bob was the guy who turned me on to invertebrates.  I took his invertebrate zoology and parasitology courses and would go on to teach both disciplines when I was in graduate school at UW-Milwaukee.  My life-long love of the spineless creatures began in Bob’s classes.

After his dear wife, Peg passed away, he indulged in history by becoming a docent at Pennsbury Manor, the old home of William Penn, the founder of the Pennsylvania colony.  He would dress in period clothes and lead tours.  When macular degeneration began to steal his eyesight, he would joke about hoping everything was where it was supposed to be since it would have been unfortunate to be describing some special object while pointing to the empty place where it used to be.

Bob as a Pennsbury Manor Docent

It’s difficult to imagine where I would be now if it weren’t for Bob.  My undergraduate record was far from stellar.  I was a good biology student but other courses brought my GPA down.  If it were not for his letter of recommendation [and the endorsement of a few others] and CCNY’s strong reputation, I would not have been admitted to grad school in Wisconsin.  I would not have met Becky.  The long roads of life would have taken many different turns.

In the Courtyard of Pat O’Briens, New Orleans, 1981

Left to right: Bob, Peg and me (with a mustache and more hair)

He and Peg came to my first wedding.  He encouraged me to apply to the Duke University Marine Lab for summer study and helped me earn a National Science Foundation fellowship for that experience.  In the 34 years since I graduated, we exchanged holiday updates, visited, did dinners out and caught up over football games.  After he retired to Newtown, PA, I would stop by when I drove north to stay overnight and catch up.  In the ten years since Peg died, he was not the same guy.  They were soul mates from the start and his loss was palpable.  I wish I could have seen him more often. 

I appreciate that he saw in me something I might not have recognized and encouraged me along.  I wanted to follow his example and pursue the academic life...get the terminal degree and teach as he did.  My life and career took other turns but we never lost touch.  I will always be grateful for his friendship.  Here’s to you, Bob.