Robert "Bob" William MacGillivray

Bob was born in Durand, Michigan, on October 25, 1949, to Winston and Margaret MacGillivray, the youngest of 5 chubby cheeked kids. After graduating from Durand High School in 1967, he attended Central Michigan University to pursue a degree in teaching. As the Vietnam War escalated and the draft intensified, he made the difficult choice to leave school and enlist in the Army, hoping to serve in a way that aligned with his interests. He was sent to the West Coast Language Institute for immersive German language training and later spent two years in Germany with a top Army Security Agency clearance, helping protect the European/American alliance during this tumultuous time. That experience instilled in him a lifelong gratitude and deep respect for veterans and their service. He later returned to CMU, earning a BS in teaching and, later, an MS in Special Education.

Bob devoted his life to up-lifting others, children and adults alike. He taught in group homes and juvenile detention centers and went on to establish the education program at the new Gunnison (Utah) Prison in 1990. He served as the GED director for the state of Virginia and ultimately worked for the Department of Education/Special Education Division, where he supported families of special needs students as they navigated school systems.

But Bob’s impact was never confined to job descriptions. He founded a Special Olympics track and field program for juveniles, sponsored by the Grand Rapids Police Department, designed to build trust and connection between at risk youth and law enforcement. His work in prisons included creating culinary arts training to help inmates build skills for life beyond incarceration, and bringing in an Artists in Residence program to offer two week humanities courses that expanded perspectives and possibility.

Bob was a man of integrity, compassion and humility. His office walls represent governors and state leaders, notes of gratitude and honor, newspaper articles, and even a spot in Newsweek, yet he always referred to himself as simply the “workhorse.” In his retirement years, he worked as a test administrator for the ASVAB in local high schools, volunteered for years at his local food pantry, Code Blue nights for the 2nd and 2nd Coalition in downtown Salt Lake City, and providing meals for teens at the local Teen Resource Center.

Bob is survived by his wife of more than 50 years, Catherine McAlpine MacGillivray; daughters Shaynna and Robyn (Sean); and granddaughters Emily and Lydia (Nick), who will miss him beyond measure. He was the steady rock of their small, loving family.

He was cherished by his siblings—Peg, Jim (Pat), Tom (Cheryl), and Rich (deceased) and loved by many cousins, nieces, and nephews. He is remembered with deep love by Cate’s siblings—Annie, Becky, and Andy (Laura) McAlpine—and by his loyal friend of 40 years, Mike Bolz.

For his wife, Cate, there are no words for the depth of this loss. They shared more than 50 years of marriage and 65 years of friendship, beginning in junior high school. Their life together was filled with adventure, shared childhood memories, beloved dogs, wide open spaces, and countless heartfelt debates about social justice and the world they hoped to see.

A memorial service is planned for February 14, 2026 at 2 pm at South Valley Unitarian Universalist Society, 6876 S. Highland Drive, Cottonwood Heights. A Zoom link will be available on the 14th at SVUUS.org.

If you wish to make donations in Bob’s name, locally, the 2nd and 2nd Coalition serving unhoused individuals at http://unshelteredutah.org/donate/ or Shiawassee Community Foundation, at www.shiacf.org, in Owosso, Michigan for our Michigan friends, or to a cause you hold dear.

“A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.”

—Oliver Wendell Holmes