Robert "Bob" Schueneman

Robert "Bob" Schueneman was born in Akron, Ohio, on February 20, 1927, to Harry and Thelma (née Southwick). Bob had a younger sister, Mary Ellen, born in 1932, who predeceased Bob in 2013.

Bob attended Akron North High School, where he lettered in football. After high school, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy, training at Naval Station Great Lakes as World War II was ending. First assigned to a Ship Repair Base, he transferred in March 1946 to the U.S.S. Bullwheel, a yard oiler operating in Philippine waters.

After the war, Bob attended college on the GI Bill. He enrolled at the University of Akron, then, after several semesters, at Ohio State University in Columbus. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Wildlife Biology. In 1950 while finishing school, he married the love of his life, Margaret Lois Moore of Columbus. After college, he worked as a Wildlife Officer for the State of Ohio. Bob recalled working for the state as one of his favorite jobs.

Bob and Margaret had three children: Laura Christine (1952), Bruce Robert (1955), and Thomas David (1958). The Schuenemans lived in Xenia, Lodi, and Akron during these years. In June 1962, Bob joined the recently organized Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife (later named the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation) under the Department of Interior. The family moved to Lebanon, in southern Ohio. In the small field office where Bob worked, he forged many great and lasting friendships, bonding families together through the decades.

In 1965, Bob took a position at the Denver Federal Center, and the family moved to Edgewater, Colorado. In 1968, Bob and Margaret bought their first house in Lakewood, Colorado. Bob loved the outdoors, regularly hiking and fishing throughout the Rocky Mountains. He took his family on summer camping trips and participated as an adult leader in the Boy Scouts. He was an avid promoter of Colorado throughout his life.

In 1971, Bob was offered a position with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in San Francisco. The family purchased a home in Pleasant Hill. Bob regularly attended public meetings and professional conferences advocating for environmental policy and stewardship. He presented “Dams and Water Developments” at the Our National Landscape Conference at Incline Village, Nevada, in April 1979.

Also in 1979, Bob accepted a position in his beloved Colorado, this time with the Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement. Bob traveled extensively and was involved in several high-profile projects, including the San Antonio River project that created the San Antonio Riverwalk.

He retired in 1989. In retirement, Bob kept busy: working as a medical courier, volunteering at the Denver Museum of Natural History, and creating exquisite wood carvings, often of birds, cherished by his children, grandchildren Sara Elisa and Herbert Charles, and great-grandchildren.

Bob was a lifelong baseball fan, attending countless games at Cleveland’s old League Park and witnessing many greats, including Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, and Cleveland’s own Bob Feller.

There was never a dog Bob did not love, from his boyhood Cocker Spaniel Red to Ginger, his beloved Sheltie. His love of dogs brought joy and delight to his family.

The family attended various churches (mainly Presbyterian) throughout their trek across America. Bob served as an elder in the Walnut Creek Presbyterian Church in California. A turning point in Bob’s spiritual journey happened In the mid-1970s when he and his son Bruce attended evangelist Francis Schaeffer’s series of lectures accompanying the screening of his film project “How Shall We Then Live?.”

Bob’s “Columbus Girl” Margaret passed away in February 2015. As a devout Christian, Bob possessed the sure and certain hope of the resurrection. Bob looked forward to meeting Margaret in heaven.

Bob is survived by his three children and their spouses (Laura/William, Thomas/Jayne, Bruce/Jesusita), two grandchildren (Sara/Michael and Herbert/Darlene), and five great-grandchildren (Ada, Margaret, Friedrich, and Amos Leimon; and Hannah Schueneman), and several nieces and nephews (Andrea, Wendy, Holly, Melissa, Sharon, Gary, Kathy, and Dale.)

Please share your memories of Bob and condolences with his family by signing the tribute wall.