Robert Shumway

Robert Vernon Shumway passed away at the age of 99 in Falls Church, Virginia on August 10, 2026.

He is survived by his wife of 77 years, Mariagnes Shumway, his daughter, Elyse Shumway of Oakville, Ontario and her husband Andy Blyth, his son, John Shumway of Arlington, Virginia and his wife, Sarah Bo- lon and their two daughters, Emma Shum- way of New York, New York and Annette Shumway of Berkeley, California. Bob was born in Los Angeles, California on June 14, 1927 to Milton Shumway and Inez Shumway (maiden name Johnson). They later resided in Lyons, Nebraska where they had another son, Jerry, who predeceased Robert earlier this year.

Bob attended high school in Lyons. He joined the Navy after high school and was stationed in Los Angeles, training to be a medic, and was scheduled to ship out when World War II ended. He attended the University of Nebraska on the GI Bill and received his Bachelor of Sciences in Business, where he was a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity. He was also a graduate of the Graduate School of Banking at the University of Wisconsin.

Bob began his career at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) as a Bank Examiner in Kansas and Nebraska in 1951.He was the Regional Director in St Louis in 1972, the Regional Director in Kansas City in 1978 and then Regional Director in Columbus, Ohio in 1979. He was promoted to Director of the Bank Liquidation Division in Washington, DC in 1980. Eight banks in the country closed that year. He was later named the Director of the new Division of Accounting and Corporate Services in Washington in 1981 and ultimately he became the Director of the Division of Bank Supervision in Washington in 1983. Finally, he was named Deputy to the FDIC Director C. C. Hope, Jr in 1986, where he served for seven years, the culmination of his career.

After all of this success, Bob used to joke that people said, “apparently I couldn’t hold a job”. As a bank examiner, Bob believe in “avoiding the unnecessary heavy hand of the regulator, but still maintaining the soundness and legality of the financial system”. During his tenure at the FDIC, Bob helped lead the way in the revolutionary use of computers and automation in the collection

and examination of bank data. Bob was also a member of the Committee on Banking Regulations and Supervisory Practices in Basel, Switzerland from 1983-1986 and had consulting assignments for the US Agency for International Development in Bolivia in 1987 and the Dominican Republic in 1988. He also had a consulting assignment for the World Bank in Turkey in 1988. Bob played the trumpet in high school, which started a lifelong love of music, which he passed on to his children. He enjoyed Big Band like Glen Miller and Jazz like Dave Brubeck, but he also loved the Allman Brothers. He had a keen interest in current affairs and excellent dry sense of humor.

At the time of his death, he had a framed New Yorker cartoon in his room that said “My desire to be well-informed is currently at odds with my desire to remain sane.”

Expressions of sympathy may be sent care of Murphy Funeral Homes in Arlington, Virginia.