Robert Frederick Herald

Robert Frederick Herald, 80, of Englewood, Colorado, passed away peacefully at home on August 10, 2026, following a courageous three-year battle with cancer.

Robert was born on April 19, 1946, to Robert Adrian and Muriel Doris (Robinson) Herald and grew up with his sister, Mary Carolyn, in Prophetstown, Illinois. His parents owned and operated Herald's Walgreen Agency in Prophetstown, where Robert and Mary both worked growing up. His small-town Midwestern upbringing helped shape the kindness, humility, and genuine interest in others that remained hallmarks of Robert throughout his life.

A gifted student with a passion for mathematics and science, Robert graduated from Prophetstown Community High School in 1964 and earned both a Technician’s Degree in 1967 and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the Milwaukee School of Engineering (M.S.O.E.) in 1970.

While living in Wisconsin, Robert met the love of his life, Joyce Magdalen Shumaker, at a coffee house in Milwaukee in 1969. They married on September 2, 1972, and shared nearly 54 years of marriage. Together they raised two sons, Matthew Robert and James Adrian.

While still attending college, Robert began his career as an electronics technician with Sangamo Electric Co. in Springfield, Illinois in 1967. After receiving his Bachelor's degree, he interviewed on campus with IBM in 1970 and was offered a position with them as an electrical engineer. During his nearly three decades with the company, he worked on numerous technical projects and was awarded a patent for work related to diskette drive technology. An opportunity with IBM brought the Herald family to Colorado in 1981, first to Longmont and later to the Englewood area, where Robert and Joyce settled in 1988.

After retiring from IBM in 1997, Robert continued his career with Hewlett-Packard and Agilent Technologies, working in both technical and customer-focused roles until his final retirement in 2009. A lifelong believer in education and learning, he earned a Master's degree in Computer Information Systems in 1997 from the University of Denver. Robert formed many lasting friendships throughout his career and remained in touch with former colleagues until his death.

Robert possessed an endlessly curious and analytical mind. He loved technology, computers, engineering, cars, reading, problem-solving, and especially space and astronomy. His mind was always at work, eager to understand how things worked and to learn something new.

He also loved adventure. Robert was an avid hiker, cyclist and skier and shared all those passions with his family. He proudly completed RAGBRAI, the annual bicycle ride across Iowa, and later rode the Denver Century Rides with his son James. In retirement, Robert and Joyce traveled extensively together, exploring countries and cultures around the world. Like his father, Robert enjoyed baking bread for his family.

Yet Robert will be remembered most not for what he accomplished, but for how he treated people. He was kind, thoughtful, honest, and an exceptional conversationalist. He had a gift for making people feel interesting and important because his interest in them was genuine. He loved to laugh, possessed a unique sense of humor, gave unforgettable hugs, and had a wonderful smile that could brighten a room.

Above all, Robert was devoted to his family. He was a loving husband, an extraordinary father who always made time for his sons, and a proud grandfather who adored his granddaughters. He also loved dogs and was a devoted dog dad over the years to Rocky, Baxter, and Emma.

Robert is survived by his beloved wife, Joyce; his son Matthew and daughter-in-law Deanna (Menke) Herald; his son James and son-in-law Tony Smith; and his granddaughters, Asha Renee Herald and Noelle Joyce Herald.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Robert Adrian and Muriel Doris Herald, and his sister, Mary Carolyn Hogan, who passed away in April 2026.

Robert's family will remember his brilliant and curious mind, his kindness, his conversations, his humor, his hugs, and his incredible smile—and, most of all, the way he made the people he loved feel special and deeply loved.

In lieu of flowers, Robert's family requests that memorial contributions be made to the American Cancer Society.