Robert Arthur Maxwell

After battling cancer for several months, Robert “Bob” Arthur Maxwell, 87, passed away peacefully December 27 at Arbor Acres Retirement Community in Winston-Salem, surrounded by his family. He was born in Union City, NJ, to Arthur Robert Maxwell and Madeline Naas Maxwell. After graduating from high school in 1945, he joined the Army Air Corps and served with the occupation forces in Japan as a weather analyst. Bob graduated from Syracuse University in 1951 and in 1954 earned his Ph.D. from Princeton University. He then began a distinguished career in pharmacology in both academia and industry. While working at CIBA and Burroughs Wellcome Company (now GlaxoSmithKline) he oversaw the research and development of new medicines, including the antidepressant Wellbutrin. Shortly before his retirement in 1992 he authored Drug Discovery: A Casebook and Analysis, a book about drug development.

Before moving to Winston-Salem in 2011, Bob lived in Raleigh for 40 years, where he and his wife Lillian raised their three children. He lived large and enjoyed a wide range of interests and activities, including travel, woodworking and carpentry, visual art, music, classic films, hiking, and biking. He was a lifelong lover of the arts, and encouraged all he knew to explore and enjoy them. He had a dry sense of humor and relished a good pun. He was a master crossword puzzler, completing thousands, and in his later years became a loyal fan of the Atlanta Braves.

He is survived by his beloved wife of 58 years Lillian; children Russell (wife Carolyn), Tracey (husband Ken), and Madeline (life partner Rich); grandchildren Margot Maxwell, Vivienne Maxwell, Logan Maxwell, Sean Maxwell, and Erin Merritt; sister Judy Maxwell Spagnolo (husband Phil), sister-in-law Anne Rodig, and brother-in-law Richard Rosera; nephews David Lieto, Matthew Spagnolo, Scott Rodig, and Keegan Rosera; nieces Meredith Rodig Amado, Tegra Rosera, and Karlene Rosera Maskaly, as well as numerous grandnieces and grandnephews.

A Celebration of Life service will be held on Saturday, January 3, 2:00pm, at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Winston-Salem, 4055 Robinhood Road. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Arts Council of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County, 206 N. Spruce Street, Winston-Salem, NC 27101, (336) 722-2585,

www.intothearts.org or the American Cancer Society, 4-A Oak Branch Drive, Greensboro, NC 27407, (336) 834-0844, www.cancer.org.

The family wishes to thank Hospice and the wonderful caregivers at the Fitzgerald Health Center (Arbor Acres) and Mt. Eagle Homecare, who spent many hours tending to Bob's needs.

Online condolences may be made to Bob’s memorial page at www.frankvoglerandsonswinstonsalem.com.