Robert Ward

Bob grew up first in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania and then Newport, Pennsylvania, where he graduated from Newport High School in 1976. He spent the next several years exploring the country with friends and working in construction and the food industry. His oldest brother Bill and his family, stationed near Anchorage, Alaska, inspired Bob to take his exploration and working life to a whole new level in the early 1980s.

After staying in Anchorage for some time, Bob drifted south to Homer, Alaska, and found work on crabbing boats as a cook (many years before the TV show Deadliest Catch). He eventually found employment with the United States Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) on the research vessel Tiĝlax̂ as a cook/deckhand where he reluctantly acquired the nickname “Slash.” Following the first few years as a part-time relief cook on the Tiĝlax̂, he attended the Western Culinary Institute in Portland, Oregon, to hone his craft and earn a permanent seasonal position with USFWS.

Bob met Emily, the love of his life, in his early forties through mutual friends in 1999. Their romance blossomed at the end of 2000, and he proposed marriage exactly one year after their romance began. They celebrated their twenty-second anniversary on September 1, 2024.

Bob is survived by his wife Emily and their six cats and two dogs. He is also survived by his brother Bill and wife Kathy, sister Kim and husband Greg, sister Patti, and brother Matt and wife Sadie. He also leaves behind an aunt, an uncle, numerous nieces, nephews, great nieces and nephews, cousins, members of Emily’s family, and great friends he made during the various stages of his life. He was preceded in death by his parents Leland and Judith Doughten, aunts Ginger and Jeri, uncles Bob (his namesake), Michael, Richard, Havard and Elmer, cousins Clay and Steve, and father-in-law Peter.

One of Bob’s greatest passions was golf. When he and Emily relocated from Homer, Alaska to Oneonta, New York, he was thrilled to be able to spend time on an 18-hole course that was open for more than two months at a time. He joined Ouleout Creek Golf Course in nearby Franklin, New York. He enjoyed many summers with his golf buddies trying to beat his best score of 74.

Bob also had an eclectic taste in music. A fan of artists from Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds to Orville Peck to Pavarotti singing Nessun Dorma, one of his favorite activities outside of golf was watching reaction videos on YouTube and getting to know musicians’ works introduced to him by his brothers Bill and Matt and nephew Wes.

Bob was a huge animal lover and often remarked that he believed animals were better than humans. He did not want a memorial service, but he would welcome donations made in his memory to Super Heroes Humane Society in Oneonta, New York. Although no specific dates have been set yet, there will be two different parties in honor of Bob – one in Homer, Alaska in June and the other in his final “hometown” of Oneonta, New York later in the summer.