Deceased March 29, 1990

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In Memory

Our Class lost a loyal friend when Bob Litowitz died of cancer at his Guilford, Conn., home on March 29, 1990. At the time of his death, Rob was enrolled in the Master of Arts in Religion program at the Yale Divinity School and was running a successful business, marketing an invention he designed and patented some years ago.

Bob’s life since Amherst included work with the New York Times, NBC and CBS News and Common Cause. In 1976 he founded the Collector’s Workshop, his own woodworking business which included the reproduction of Shaker furniture for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Trust and the Smithsonian. I still recall one day examining the cover of the National Trust publication Preservation News which featured a photograph of a Shaker rocker. When I opened the cover to read more about the rocker, I discovered to my astonishment that the rocker was not an antique but was in fact a featured reproduction crafted by Bob for the Trust. For those who recall Bob’s incredible matchstick creations at Amherst, his master craftsmanship will come as no surprise. At the time of his death, Bob had patents pending for a new design in oar-lock construction (Bob was an avid rower) and a SKILSAW guide.

Bob lived a vivid, extraordinary life. His many friends knew that each visit would renew a friendship of emotional and intellectual intensity otherwise often missing from our lives. Talking late into the night or hiking into the mountains, we’d catch up on Bob’s latest adventures, not always aware that, as we did so, we became part of the next one. And adventures they were, for wherever Bob was, he seemed incapable of going through the motions; he was driven by an instinctive, unquestioned impulse to lend a hand and help out. At Divinity School he grappled with ethical theory but was also drawn back to Yonkers, his hometown, to work with the local religious community to defuse recent racial tensions there. In establishing his business, he conscientiously set out to earn a livelihood while helping others. In the end, he succeeded in linking workers at a rural New England woodworking mill and a New York workshop for the retarded with the nation’s largest retail firm—to the benefit of all.

Many friends and classmates had the chance to visit with Bob during the last months of his life. Ken Sayle ’70, Rob Knowlton ’70, Woody Merrell ’70 and Louis Goldring ’74 spoke at Bob’s memorial service held at the Yale Divinity School Chapel on the 8th of April with many other classmates and friends in attendance.

At the memorial service, one of Bob’s kindergarten teachers reminisced about the day Bob came to school with an invention he had put together which worked like a doorbell. You pushed a button and a buzzer sounded. Bob’s classmates were in awe and began shouting, “It’s magic, it’s magic.” Bob replied, "No, it’s electricity." We will all miss Bob dearly. Our Class has been robbed of a great friend.

Scott McGee ’70
Art Thornbury ’70