Robert Stephens Obituary

In memories of times at LRMS. Michael Sangiorgio

Very Sorry for your loss. Prayers for your strength thru this period of separation. I enjoyed Coach Stephens. I remember seeing that glint in his eye that made you know he was seeing youthe real youwhen he spoke to you. A great life and a great legacy. May he rest in peace.

My Uncle Bob was a great person and an important influence on my life, and, yes, he was also a bit of a character. He had a great mind and had an abundance of talents including music, landscape painting, gardening, and soccer. Before he had his own kids, I was his first nephew and the only male grandchild in our family for a few years. Because, he didn’t live too far away, Uncle Bob became an important male role model for me in my youth, given that my own father was rarely around. He took me camping, and sailing, and brought me to pick -up soccer games. Those events loom large in my childhood memories even though they were not necessarily raging successes; the camping trip was a rain-soaked outing which featured us hauling wet, old-fashioned woolen sleeping bags and canvas tents half way across an island in the Delaware River only to discover that all of our matched were soaked, and thus our meals consisted of cold hot dogs and raw eggs; on the sailing outing we got becalmed in Barnegat Bay and had to paddle the boat the last half mile; the soccer outings were pick-up games with many of Uncle Bob’s friends who were full grown men that didn’t care I was 10 years old and about 70 pounds soaking wet. I remember Uncle Bob telling my mother when he dropped me off back off at the house that I could “run like a deer.” It was nice of him not to explain to my mother that I was actually running away from the ball as fast as I could in order to avoid being trampled. I left New Jersey 50 years ago to go to college, but I always kept in touch with Uncle Bob through letters, phone calls, and occasional visits. My wife has particularly fond memories of a visit we made in the 1990s when he gave her a tour of his beloved and very impressive vegetable garden. In our phone conversations he often recalled his youth in rural Pennsylvania, and especially his Army service in post-WWII Germany, running a gymnasium for GIs. He once spoke with my wife for over an hour on the phone about his military soccer exploits—while the two of them were simultaneously watching and discussing an exciting World Cup soccer match on TV. More than anything though, over the phone, Uncle Bob always talked about his kids. He was so proud of all four of them, and would always recount the accomplishments of each one in detail. And in more recent years he would include the many accomplishments of his grand kids. I’m so happy my daughter and I were able to visit him a few years ago before Covid. He was a great great guy and I’m going to miss him immensely.

Mr. Stephens was my gym teacher for nearly every year from Kindergarten to my first year in high school. During my Kindergarten year he visited our class more often as the year progressed. During that summer he married our Kindergarten teacher, Miss Nancy Oxenford.

He was one of the better gym teachers - firm but fair. During the early grades, one of the favorite games he taught us was "I say stoop" which was a variation of "Simon Says."

Just before our senior year in high school, I was assisting with a Five Day Club (a traveling Vacation Bible School) held at my house. We noticed a man across the street with a paintbrush and easel. It was Mr. Stephens, painting a still-life of my great-grandparents' house!

My deepest condolences to the Stephens family, especially following so close on the passing of Mrs. Stephens. May God bless and comfort the family through this doubly sad time.