Robert Lee Bobby Rearden Jr.

Robert Lee (“Bobby”) Rearden, Jr. passed away on January 10, 2015 at Emory University Hospital while undergoing treatment for a recurrence of the leukemia that he had successfully defeated eleven years ago. A most beloved husband, father and grandfather, and a loyal and devoted friend to so many, Bobby lived a full life committed to his family, his friends and his community.

Bobby was born in the textile mill town of Langdale, Alabama on June 10, 1941, the only child of Janice Gray Rearden and Robert Lee Rearden, Sr. He attended high school as a boarding student at The Westminster Schools in Atlanta, Georgia, served as President of The Westminster Schools Alumni Association and was a recipient of the Alumni Service Award. Bobby earned both BS and MBA degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a member of Phi Delta Theta and inducted into the Order of Gimghoul and the Order of the Old Well. He later served on the Board of the UNC General Alumni Association. He earned a JD degree from Emory University School of Law and served on the Emory Law School Board of Visitors.

Bobby returned to his roots in the textile world moving to Lanett, Alabama following his college days to work for West Point Pepperell. He moved to Atlanta shortly thereafter to attend law school and work for his father-in-law’s insurance agency, Duncan Peek, Inc. He developed this small independent agency into a multi-million dollar nationally recognized insurance brokerage firm which he eventually sold. During his career in the insurance business, Bobby served in various leadership roles for a number of insurance groups, including as Chairman of St. Paul Top Brass Advisory Council. At the time of his death, he was serving as a principal with Integro, a national insurance brokerage firm, and as Chairman and CEO of Kestrel Communications, Inc., a media production company he founded in 1993.

Bobby was a member of the Atlanta Olympic Committee bid team that successfully brought the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games to Atlanta and served on the Board of Directors of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games. At the time of his death, he was serving on President Jimmy Carter’s Board of Councilors for the The Carter Center of Emory University, as Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Trustees of The Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School, and as a founding member of the Advisory Board of the Winship Cancer Institute at Emory University. Over the last eleven years the names Winship Cancer Institute and Bobby Rearden have become synonymous. He served as Honorary Chair of Friends of Winship and as Patient Advocate on the External Advisory Board when Winship submitted its successful application for National Cancer Institute designation. There was no greater champion for Winship than Bobby, and he was a fixture in Winship’s halls, known and beloved by physicians and staff alike.

Bobby’s very active civic involvement also included serving as President and later Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Leadership Georgia, and in board or active leadership roles for numerous and varied civic organizations including The World Golf Foundation, the Brookwood/Midtown Rotary Club, the Atlanta Friendship Force, Special Audiences, the Kidney Foundation of Georgia, the Atlanta Area Council-Boy Scouts of America, Central Atlanta Progress, Atlanta Habitat for Humanity, Columbia Seminary, the American Cancer Society, the American Red Cross and the Metro Atlanta United Way. He also has served as an Elder in the Presbyterian Church.

Bobby was married for almost fifty years to his high school sweetheart and beloved wife Dell, who survives him along with his children Alison Rearden Murrah (Patrick) and Robert Lee Rearden III (Ashley), and seven grandchildren, Charles (19), Anna (18), Jack (14) and Jim (11) Murrah, and Evie (14), Helen (11) and Sheldon (8) Rearden. Bobby and Dell greatly enjoyed spending time with family and friends at their home in Lake Toxaway, North Carolina.

A memorial service will be held this Wednesday, January 14, 2015, at 11 o'clock at First Presbyterian Church, 1328 Peachtree Street, Atlanta Georgia 30309. A reception will follow in Fifield Hall. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, Emory Office of Gift Records, 1762 Clifton Road NE, Suite 1400 Atlanta, GA 30322.