Robert Edward Degeeter

Bob was born to Bud and Bernadette DeGeeter on September 20, 1938, in Paterson, New Jersey. He was raised for sixteen years in Paramus, a small rural area in northern New Jersey.

Bob spent his early years playing many different sports. He graduated in June 1955 from Ridgewood High School, where he played football, basketball, and track. He was chosen to represent the school at Boy’s State at Rutgers University his junior year. He attended Colgate University in Hamilton, New York, where he won three varsity letters in track and was selected to both the Junior and Senior Honorary Societies. Bob graduated with high honors with a degree in Mathematics in June 1959.

Bob started work in New York City that summer as a student actuary with MONY. He met his future wife, Marge, working at the company, and they were married in January 1961. Bob spent seven years learning his actuarial trade and had been promoted to Assistant Actuary when he left.

Tired of commuting to the city while trying to raise a young family, Bob and Marge moved to Northbrook, IL, in January 1967 to join Allstate Life as an Accident and Health Actuary. After enduring the blizzard of 1967 (27” of snow) and several more frigid winters, they decided Chicago was too cold. Bob joined Reserve Life Insurance in Dallas in January 1972 as Vice President and Chief Accident and Health Actuary, but left Reserve in May 1975 because of a turnover in the Holding Company structure, changing the direction of the company.

He joined Lewis and Ellis in May 1975 and stayed twenty-eight years. During that time he helped develop the Accident and Health line of business for the company, as well as his own consulting practice, a very rewarding career. Bob found the clients to be very challenging and interesting people. He retired in February 2003 after spending the last two years as President of the company.

Family activities included numerous ski trips to Colorado, swim trips to Hawaii, several pheasant hunting trips to Kansas each December for the boys and 50th wedding anniversary trip to Hilton Head for the whole family. Marge and Bob did a lot of traveling while he was working, mostly within the US. They have been in every state except North Dakota and West Virginia. After retiring they took longer trips overseas including England, Central Europe, Ireland, Scandinavia, Russia, and Italy, with stopovers in several other countries.

The most important sports activity in his lifetime was gold, which he started playing at fifteen. He was a charter member at Gleneagles Country Club in Plano (35 years). In his travels, he played many great golf courses in both the USA and abroad; a favorite was Pebble Beach, California, where he managed to shoot under 90 in all three rounds, with a low score of 82.

In 2000 Bob was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Various treatments kept the disease under control for long periods of time. The deterioration accelerated this year and he was eventually treated by Hospice. Bob felt life had been good to him and he leaves with no regrets. He was equally proud of both his career and family. The most important thought he leaves to his family is that their love for each other is the most important thing in their lives and to stick together as a family.

Bob was preceded in death by his parents. He is survived by his wife of almost 55 years, Marge; children Robert DeGeeter, Kelly and Jeff Hunter, Holly and Stuart Smith; grandchildren Joshua and Noah DeGeeter, Cody, Will, and Ty Hunter, Emma and Daniel Esquibel, and Tanner, Riley and Bradyn Smith.

A memorial service will be held Monday, December 28, 2015, 2:00pm at Wilshire Baptist church, 4316 Abrams Road, Dallas, TX 75214. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Vitas Hospice Care, 8585 N. Stemmons Frwy, Suite 2005, Dallas, TX 75247, or ASPCA, 2400 Lone Star Drive, Dallas, TX 75212.