Robert A Sammons

After a joyful and well-lived life, Robert Ardel Sammons Jr., MD, PhD, passed away on March 13, 2025, at HopeWest in Grand Junction, Colorado, leaving behind a legacy of love, family, friendship, and the improvement of mental health. He was 79 years old.

“Dr. Bob” was born on July 20, 1945, in Memphis, Tennessee to Dr. Robert Ardel Sammons Sr. and Mary Calvert Franklin. He was the beloved spouse of Louise Sammons and loving father of Merritt Martin and Katie O’Hara.

Bob graduated from McCallie School and earned both his BA and MS degrees from Auburn University in Alabama. He then served as a Captain in the U.S. Air Force, where he developed and ran the drug rehabilitation program for Vietnam veterans. He went on to earn a PhD in psychology from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a medical degree from UNC Chapel Hill. In 1988 he completed his residency in psychiatry at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. Though his formal education ended there, his passion for lifelong learning continued, including training in transcranial magnetic stimulation therapy (TMS) at Harvard University in anticipation of its FDA approval 5 years later .

Bob served as a member of the District 51 School Board, president of the Mesa County Medical Society, and was a life member of several magic organizations including CCCC, IBM, and SAM. He also served as program chair for the international Clinical TMS Society and was named a fellow of the organization.

He is survived by his wife of 44 years, Louise Sammons; children, Merritt (Burke) Martin and Katie (Sean) O’Hara; grandchildren, Erin Martin, Connor (Jeneve) Martin, Liam Martin, and Eula Bea O’Hara; stepmother Jane Sammons; and siblings, Susan (Bill) Sullins, Calame (Dianne) Sammons, the late Eula (Tommy) Battle, and Bill (Laurie) Sammons.

He was preceded in death by his father, Robert Sammons Sr; mother, Mary Calvert Sammons; and sister, Eula Battle.

Bob was a very magical person who could make friends with anyone. Once he found a new hobby, he would dive in with both feet and usually become an expert. Some of his hobbies included performing and teaching magic, tying balloon animals, competing in barbecue competitions, and “representing the Magic of Christmas” at Christmas markets, parties, and multiple family gatherings. He was often recognized out of costume while walking through the mall, at Christmas craft shows and even at IHOP, where people of all ages would ask for a picture.

His great smile, big heart, boundless generosity, and genuine care for people of all ages was evident in everything he did. Bob worked hard, played harder and loved fiercely. He worked as a psychiatrist in the Grand Vally and co-founded TMS Solutions. He cotaught junior magician conferences at Magic in the Rockies in Colorado for 15 years, and at the Society of American Magicians in Kentucky. He gently forced the creation of “The Basement Tapes“ with master clown Dave Bartlett, won the title of Brisket Grand Champion in Frisco, and was a youth soccer coach for 20 seasons the last one for his grandson in 2021.

A reception will be held on April 12 at 11:00 a.m. at Callahan-Edfast Mortuary. Memorial contributions may be made to HopeWest or to Grand Valley Oncology at Community Hospital in Grand Junction, Colorado.

Bob’s family and friends fondly remember him as a big brother, great storyteller, loving husband, treasured father, and “BBQ god”. Bob was larger than life and truly one of a kind. He would want us to continue as if, “THE ROAD GOES ON FOREVER AND THE PARTY NEVER ENDS”!