Robert F Peckham

Robert “Bob” Francis Peckham passed away during a record heatwave in the Pacific Northwest on Sunday June 27, 2021, at the age of 88. No doubt, Starbucks’ stock price probably tanked soon afterward. Starbucks was a favorite place for Bob to meet a friend or family member for a quick lunch or cup of tea. Bob was a great friend to many but especially beloved by his family. “Family is everything,” he would say. He was also famous for saying, “Have a great now” at the end of conversations, and when asked how he was doing, he’d say, “Still upright and breathing.” Bob was born on March 1, 1933, in Pasadena, California. A few days later there was a big earthquake in Long Beach, so his parents, Hubert and Billie Peckham, scooped up their new baby and quickly skedaddled to Oregon. Bob liked to say his parents were the original hillbillies. They lived for a time near the Abiqua and Scotts Mills, but eventually settled in Silverton, where Bob graduated from high school. Bob joined the United States Navy and later married his sweetheart Roxie in 1955, initially raising a family on the East Coast, but eventually returning to Oregon, and then California. While in the Navy, he served as a chief petty officer and participated in the U.S. blockade of Cuba in 1962; afterward he traveled around the world on a tour and collected both souvenirs and treasured memories. In California, he enjoyed working for various technology companies, he traveled a great deal to Japan, and yet somehow managed to obtain a degree in Finance from Cal State Northridge while raising a family. Most of all, Bob is best remembered and cherished for his nearly 43 years of sobriety and carrying the message to other alcoholics. While not a particularly religious man, he embraced the philosophy that God was his employer. In business, as in life, he would ask how he could be of service to others and then do whatever was needed to help that person out. Bob was a great thinker and loved to read, but most of all he loved his family. He was preceded in death by his parents and younger brother Bill; Bob is survived by his wife Roxie, his sister Nancy Belier, his three children Mike, Trish and Terry and their spouses, his seven grandchildren Zachary, Josh, Cathy, Ryan, Katrina, Thomas and Emmett, and his five great grandchildren Zander, Rylee, Roux, Fox, and Amara. Celebration of Life services will be held on Saturday August 7, 2021, at 11:00 a.m. at the Tigard United Methodist Church located at 9845 SW Walnut Place, Tigard, OR 97223. Contributions can be made in remembrance of Bob at the Alzheimer’s Association.

Robert F Peckham

March 1, 1933 - June 27, 2021